Write about intelligence: What is it?

Here is a pile of my action figure dolls. Albert Einstein, Bunson Honeydew, E.B. Debois ( the famous African American writer), and an Extra-terrestial fellow with no human name. All of these beings possess something we call intelligence, the ability to know about their own existence and the existence of others. What is intelligence? What forms does it come in? Can it be measured? Why is it important? These are just a few random questions. As an intelligent being, you may have many more. Let's write about intelligence.

Write about a time you jumped

Life often comes to precipices where a human being has to decide do I stay the way I am or do I jump wholeheartedly into the unknown future.

Sometimes its a job that you quit or an old life you reject or a new life you embrace. These are the moments that show up on your personal timeline as peaks or valleys. These are the times that change you for better and worse. When we jump we embrace the unknown.

Write about a time you jumped.

Write about the Man Store

This a photo I took last week in San Angelo Texas at the Man store.

The Man store is a place where they sell man things. What are man things? What do they sell in the man store? Forget about just material objects. What feelings? What thoughts do they sell at the Man Store?

Write about a Time You Pretended

It's fun to pretend and sometimes that fun can get us into trouble. Write about a time you pretended to be someone you were not, a time you put on the mask. What were the consequences? What did you learn?

Write about your Safe Place

Everyone needs a safe place. Write about your safe place.

Write a Blues Fairy Tale

The Three Bear Blues by Barry Lane from the album Lane's Recycled Fairy Tales

Write About What Can't Be Measured

Not everything in life can be measured says the quote from Albert Einstein and not everything that is measured is so important.

What do you think of this quote? What can be measured in your life? What can't be measured? What measurements have no meaning? What measurements do?

Write about it. Think about it. Write about it.

Here is a song I wrote to describe my experience with grading in school.

01 Gradebook Prison Blues (words Barry Lane, music Johnny Cash) by Barrylane55

Gradebook Prison Blues

I hear the teacher comin',

she's comin' round the bend

and I ain't see the sunshine,

since I don't know when

Cause I'm stuck in Gradebook Prison

and time keeps draggin on

when I hear that gradebook comin'

I turn my head and moan.

When I was just a baby

my mama said to me

always be a good boy

don't ever get a "c'

But I got a "d' in reading,

just to make her cry.

Now I hear that gradebook comin'

I turn my head and sigh

I see those smart kids 'sittin'

in that fancy AP class

Their probably readin' Shakespeare

and know that they will pass

but me I'm stuck in resource

doin' SRA

and I answer pointless questions

to pass the time away.

I'll probably write a novel

about the year I leave this school

Or maybe epic poetry

bout why I was not cool.

but now I'm stuck in English

Doing five paragraph themes.

But when I hear that gradebook comin'

it smothers all my dreams.

Write about a Time Life Surprised You

"L'homme propose et Dieu dispose."

Man proposes, God disposes.

French Proverb

Has life ever taken you by surprise? Has something terrible or wonderful or strange happened that was not in your plans? Write about it.

Write about Robots or Toys

Ideal's Robot Comando is here to Help you.

Here was my favorite toy when I was 6 years old. Robot Commando. Looking back, from today I can see this toy was a bit on the violent side. I grew up during the Cold War with the Soviet Union and this toy is a thinly disguised war machine, probably out to train the next generation of soldiers.What toys did you play with? If play is a preparation for life, what skills and things are they teaching you? Lets write about toys.

Metamorphosis Class

Yesterday my friends at Reed Intermediate school in Connecticut sent me their district wide writing prompt. It asked students to propose an after school club to the principal. Only after I wrote my 45 minute timed writing on transformation class did I realize my writing was influenced by Dr. Martin Luther King.

Here is the piece I wrote. My question is what do you do in Metamorphosis class? Or maybe can you write about a time of metamorphosis or transformation in your Life?

Transformation Class Could Change Your Life

Attention all students, this afternoon, after school , by order of the principal, we will begin transformation class. Please bring your bodies and minds, your thoughts and ideas, and especially, your dreams. You see a transformation class is where we learn to become our dreams.

This may sound weird to many of you but let me tell you transformation classes are not weird at all. From the beginning of time people have learned to transform themselves for the better. It started with the funny cave girl who found 2 round stones and turned it into a cart. She called it ‘ THE WHEEL” and at first everyone thought she was really strange. Then they saw how she could carry more stuff than anyone. After a while they all found round stones and today you can see them as the tires on your Ford Focus.

Then there was the guy who found that sparks made this thing called fire. Fire itself could transform metals like iron into liquid that you could mold into whatever you want. Enter silverware, armor ,can openers and , of course, the Ford Focus. Actually, the cans came first, but you probably know that.

Then there were the two children who decided war was not the best thing for humanity. They were a boy and a girl and they were both students at Reed Intermediate school in Newtown, Connecticut. They had watched the evening news and saw that there was enough, hunger and sadness and suffering in the world without human beings adding to it with their stupid weapons. So they started a secret class in Peace at recess. They showed everybody that peace was something you could practice in everyday life. It required stopping more, standing back from your angry, thoughts and feelings, learning to resist the temptation to just react and punch back at life. It required accepting kids who were not your friends into your group. It was more than tolerance. It was love and the more they practiced , the better they got at it and soon everyone in the class realized something: The whole world would be a better place if everyone practiced this.

I met this boy and girl last week and they invited me to tell the principal about this class. I have talked to the principal and he has approved it and now I want to invite you to it. It is never too late to live your dreams. It is never too late to see a world that others can’t imagine. It is never too late to transform hate and suffering into love and joy. Human beings, you see ,are all alchemists. We have a magic process that turns lead into gold. Come learn about this process.

If you feel sometimes like a sad larva, come to the Transformation Class after school and see that you have wings waiting to lift you up into the blue sky of your dreams.

Barry Lane January 18, 2012 started at 11:40 am finished at 12:19 pm

Write about a Car that Holds Memories

Do you Want to Take the the Volvo of the Miata?

When you

asked me

the question

I thought for

a minute about

which was

the safer

car for a man

in his fifties

who had

great responsibility.

and mortgage

waiting for him

to pay each month.

The choice

was clear

as I reached

for the Miata keys

Sometimes

the safer path

is the one which

leads to yearning.

41 Write a Chant Poem about History

When Will You Know Slavery?

You’ll won’t know slavery

till you sit in the hold of ship chained

to the floor with your hands chained

to the collar round your neck.

You won’t know slavery

till you feel the ship heave

as babies cry for the mother

who tries to keep them close.

You won’t slavery till

you taste the cold sea water as it slams over

the deck and into the place where you lay

and you cannot escape even if you could swim a thousand miles back to

Africa.

You won’t know slavery

till you feel the master’s whip and

watch the welts rise on your father’s back.

You won’t know slavery

till you stare into the children’s eyes

and see no future.

You won’t know slavery

till you see a sign above a

drinking fountain that says

WHITES ONLY.

You won’t know slavery

till you see the bitterness

in the eyes of the man behind

the counter who won’t serve you.

You won’t know slavery

till you watch the man apply for a job

and know he will never get that job.

You won’t know slavery

till you hear 10 thousand marching

for the simple right to be human.

You won’t know slavery

Till you stand

On the mountaintop

And gaze into the the

Promised land,

You won’t know slavery

Till you stare

Into the eyes of

A black child and glimpse

a spark of hope.

You won’t know

slavery

till you

Have a dream that

You will one day be judged

Not by the color of your skin

But by the content

of your character.

You won’t know Slavery

till you taste

The tears of years

welling up inside

like the saddest song

you have ever heard.

You wont know slavery

Till you leave the

Chains dangling

In the wind

And rise up to

A New dream.

You wont known slavery

Till you feel

The new dream

Pounding like a drum

In your heart.

You wont know slavery

Till you

Taste

sweet

freedom

dripping

like a georgia Peach

down your cheeks.

Barry Lane

Write a Top ____ Reasons Poem

Top 8 Reasons Why I Want to Be a Grizzly Bear

8 I could stand 10 feet tall

7 I could weigh over 1000 pounds

6 I could smell a rotting carcass 2 miles away

5 I could kill a cow with each blow

4 I could run 40 miles per hour

3 I could outrun a

2 I could out swim an olympian

And the number one reason why I want to be a Grizzly bear is...

I COULD SLEEP FROM OCTOBER TO MAY

Barry Lane (from 51 Wacky We-search Reports)

Write about Race

Double Take

If I were you

and you were me

Oh how strange

this world would be

You’d like pizza

I’d like steak

you’d like puddles

I’d like lakes

I’d like movies

you’d read books

friends would give us

funny looks

Cause I’d be black

and you’d be white

and we would Know

we ARE alike.

For I am you

And you

Are me

Can’t you see!

Can’t you see!

barry lane

Write about a New Day

New Day

1 The New Day (Words and music by Barry and Jessie Lane) by Barrylane55

No more worries no more fears

Something new between the ears

If someone hits you turn your cheek

You own the world when you are meek

For Now is the new day

Now is the new day

Now is the new day

Now is the new day

Don’t judge me by my skin

Take the time to look within

The train of Truth is on the track

When no one talks behind your back,

For Now is the new day

Now is the new day

Now is the new day

Now is the new day

Men and Woman are two wings

The bird it flies , the bird it sings

Much more love and much less Hate

Watch the world cooperate

For Now is the new day

Now is the new day

Now is the new day

Now is the new day

We are the mixed Fruit of one tree

Live in peace and unity

Forget the Old , embrace the new

Less Me me me More YOU YOU YOU

For Now is the new day

Now is the new day

Now is the new day

Now is the new day

People hungry

people scared

they don’t know

how much we care

Face the sun

Soak up its rays

Its time to find

A Better Way

For Now is the new day

Now is the new day

Now is the new day

Now is the new day.

A Song by Barry and Jessie Lane

Write about playing a Musical Instrument

Violins in the Schools

There is a

cat in my room

after supper

wailing

to be free.

A young boy

holds her,

coaxes her

to make

sweet melodies,

but she

scratches

back at him

cornered by

his will.

Help me Mozart !

Civilization is crumbling

in my callow fingers.

And The Little Star

high up in the sky

is wondering

who I am.

Barry Lane

23 Write about an Ancestor

Rifka

When the

steamship tickets arrived

in the mail

you said no.

You would rather

stay here

with the

hatred you know

then go

to the dark

of a new world

no better than

this one.

And when I look

at your passport photo,

I cant help

but think of all

the journey's you

never took.

How fear holds

us all in place,

glues us

to the miserable moment,

traps light

in its black prism.

Alone in our

tiny village,

we

wait

for the

jackboots

to take us

to a

place

we don't

even

dare to imagine.

Barry Lane For my Great Aunt Rifka who died in Poland circa 1943

Write about a Time you Could Not See Yourself

Cool

When you

look at me

do you see

me

look

at

you,

or are

your eyes

stuck

on your

own

face,

frozen

in the ice of

I'm Cool..

And when

life

melts

your cool

self

will you

see me

standing

here.

Will your

mirror

turn

into

a Window?

Barry Lane

Write about a Brush with Fame

Obama Moment

I am proud to be

an American,

not just because of

the men who died

for me

but for those who

live each day

waiting for

a new rebirth

of wonder.

Standing in a rope line

watching a young

mother thrust her

baby at you

as the flashes

explode around you

like bombs

bursting

in air

Waiting for my

chance to say

one thing

that will change

the course of

history,

The one thing,

that a year

from now you will

recount

near the end

your State of

the Union

address,

'There was

this guy I met

in a rope line

in Dover

New Hampshire

who said

something ...

And then

you turn to me,

your white shirt

gleaming,

the sleeves rolled

up in such

a perfect way

that the cuffs

seem starched

and flattened

against your

dark fore arm,

And you reach

for my hand

and I say

the only

history changing

thing

I can

think of.

" I Love you, man."

16 Write about a Moment of Wonder from Your Childhood

Late Night Talk Show

on summer nights

when we lie in bed

too hot to sleep

My brother and I

would do

a late night talk shows

where we talked about

everything

we wondered

about.

If the earth

is a planet and the

sun is just a star,

does that mean

there are millions

of earths

floating

around

millions of suns

and millions

of summer

kids

in millions

of summer beds

thinking millions

of thoughts

that we

are thinking

right now?

In the background

an old fan whirred

and blew steamy

summer air

in our direction.

Why am I me

and not my friend

Johnny Manning?

How did I get in this

body with these parents

in this town?

Why do I have

these thoughts

on hot summer nights?

He would fall

asleep

and I would listen

to his steady

snore,

my mind

buzzing with

the electricity

of wonder

till sleep

pulled me

back into

the boat.

Barry Lane