writing

How’s That Novel You’re Working On, Vilson?

November 11, 2010 Jose

Pardon me for stating the obvious, but I’m working on a book. Not the one that Dr. Barnett Barry and the rest of the Teaching 2030 Team will have out mid-December / early January that you can pre-order now (Amazon Kindle it, please). That one’s great, too. My own. With my name all by itself [...]

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A Lesson From My Brother Chneux: How To Talk About Yourself When No One Else Will

October 28, 2010 Jose

Vilsons are supposed to brag. Aside from the lasciviousness (which is how we ended up with so many siblings on my father’s side to begin with), the Vilsons are often considered to have an unusually high swagger and a disregard for life’s rules without surpassing the boundaries of “cool.” They’re not prone to jumping out [...]

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Until Lambs Become Lions [About Blogging]

June 7, 2010 Jose

A couple of nights ago, I saw Russell Crowe’s rendition of Robin Hood. A good movie for those who like serious, rugged prequels to their favorites, the film takes us through Robin Hood the English soldier who fought alongside the King of England in defense of his country before the jealous king pronounced him as [...]

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6 Things I’ve Learned About Writing [600th Post]

May 10, 2010 Jose

I honestly can’t believe I’ve written 600 of these essays. I went from a little blog somewhere in the atmosphere to getting a nice pat-on-the-back from the hundreds of you who read me weekly. I’ve learned so much, I just had to write it down. I’m at a point where I’m bombarded with requests for [...]

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Short Notes: Top 5 Things Irking Me Now [C'Mon Son! Edition]

December 6, 2009 Short Notes

A few links: This is probably the worst story I’d ever read. It’s too real to be a movie. [The Field Negro] Here’s how one uses information design / aesthetics to tell 9/11. [Infosthetics] If you ever had the urge to speak edubabble, check this handy tool passed onto me by Chad Ratliff. You can [...]

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Writing Is Like Exfoliating From The Inside

October 26, 2009 Jose

A few months ago, I had the opportunity of meeting Kilian Betlach, writer, former teacher, and present administrator. As most of you have seen on my sidebar, I feature his book This Feels Like a Riot Looks. John Norton and Barnett Berry helped bring us and 10 other teachers together this summer as part of [...]

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In Defense of the Egomaniac (Or I’m Walt Mossburg … Shut Up)

August 3, 2009 Jose

I’m The Jose Vilson. Shut up.

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Who’s Gonna Cover Your Vibes, XXLs, and Sources?

July 6, 2009 Jose

Recently, Vibe Magazine closed its doors, at least in print form. For those who never ventured into black publication, Vibe Magazine was a Black-based magazine started by Quincy Jones last decade. The ostensible vision of the pub was to highlight Black culture, but with a bit of a White lens. It mainly featured R&B and [...]

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An Interrupted Morning

July 2, 2009 Jose

It’s been less than a week since my vacation started, and my mind tingles like it did when I was still in the Mr. Vilson phase, full of thoughts and ways I’d change my routine for that day. Little did that part of my brain know that I really wasn’t going to wake up at [...]

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Death Measured At Words Per Minute

May 26, 2009 Jose

In this increasingly popular post entitled, “But I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For,” a commenter by the name of Kat, whose discussions on Twitter have given me food for thought, linked me to a video by Elizabeth Gilbert, author of Eat, Pray, Love. Anyone who’s even ridden a subway, gone to a Barnes [...]

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