[These were all taken from the web using a google image search. In my class, I print these out on paper, and then use them as flashcards for teaching or reviewing basic adjectives.]
Wednesday, October 22, 2025
The New Teen Titans Volume Eleven by Marv Wolfman: Review
Started: October 7, 2025
(This is my first time reading this book, so according to my new rules, I'm doing this as a video only review.)
Apologies for the bad camera work. I have difficulty reading the text through the camera viewer, so when I'm reading the text, it means I'm not keeping an eye on what I'm filming.
My reviews of Silver Age Teen Titans books:
Related Playlists:
DC Comics Playlist: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOY-0V_l_9x6kPikhXNalrSh9BnvzZi2f&si=4rAijTT4v9u_06q2
Book Review Playlist: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOY-0V_l_9x7dao6py7ODX_PkUvrAEch7&si=EJ7CG8iO9IouNaYY
Books I read in 2025: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOY-0V_l_9x7Fev7Uv6_tzuSf84LtYwQu&si=Im1rdozRXrgGnr99
Teen Titans Playlist: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOY-0V_l_9x4_-BaiPwS0J-LsMStZZlJq&si=EwPsg0qwXoP9MqVi
I was able to read this book thanks to the Michigan statewide state-wide interlibrary loan service called MeLCat, which may be in danger thanks to a Presidential executive order. If you, like me, enjoy using MeLCat, contact your local representatives and let them know.
Did you enjoy this review? Consider supporting me on Ko-fi: https://ko-fi.com/joelswagman
Support me on Patreon: https://patreon.com/JoelSwagman
Check out this book on Amazon: https://amzn.to/42rDq9F (This is an Amazon Associate's Link. If you buy anything through that link, I get a commission.)
Tuesday, October 21, 2025
I recently used Google Gemini to create several images that can be used as prompts for comparative adjectives. The chat in which I created those images can be viewed here. (If you read that chat, you'll note that a few of the images weren't exactly what I wanted, but overall I got enough to use for my class.)
I subsequently put those prompts on a slideshow for a lesson here (slides, pub). This is for displaying to students and also to make it easier to print them out. The images start on slide 18.
The slideshow is part of a larger lesson, which I'll post separately in a future post.
Monday, October 20, 2025
The Current State of My Language Studies (Updated)
Back in July, I wrote a long post about all the stuff I was doing to study languages.
In that post, I mentioned I was studying:
* Duolingo
But then since I wrote that post, I've added even more stuff.
* Drops
* Memrise
* Rosetta Stone
* Legentibus
So... I guess it's time for another update, to explain why I added all this stuff, and how I'm currently juggling it.
Using Youtube Videos to Study Spanish Conversation I already wrote about. I wanted to try to prioritize learning Spanish, since it's most useful for my current job. I had already decided that memorizing dialogues (as opposed to just random vocabulary) was the way forward in terms of my Vietnamese studies, so I decided to do the same thing for Spanish.
In terms of my Latin studies, I continue to be making slow but steady progress through the Wheelock's Latin suite of textbooks. It's going slow, but I do feel like I've mastered that chapters that I have completed.
And now that I've begun to get into it again, I have begun to wonder if I'll ever be able to work my way back up to the point where I'm able to read real Latin literature.
In my youth, after 3 years of high school Latin, I took a couple college Latin courses in which we were supposed to read the ancient Roman Latin--1 course on the Roman poets, one course on the Roman historians (which was just Caesar's Gallic Wars, if I remember correctly.) I didn't much care for either course, and that was one of the main reasons why I dropped Latin and changed from a Classics major to a general history major.
As I remember it, I would spend a long time working on my translation every night, only to come back to class the next day and find out that my translation was all wrong. The difficulty was a combination of having to remember so many rules and word endings at once in order to decode a sentence, plus all these secret rules that you didn't know about that were constantly tripping you up. (e.g. "Although ordinarily we would expect the accusative for the direct object, this particular verb uses the dative for its object, so that's why your translation is wrong.")
I began to wonder if I would have these frustrations if I were ever to return to Latin literature.
It occurred to me that if I were ever in that position again, I would put less emphasis on my ability to translate everything perfectly the first time, and more emphasis on rereading and memorizing Latin verses for which I already had the translation. That way I could maybe enjoy the poetry more, and maybe even begin to internalize some of the trickier aspects of the language.
What's more, websites like quizlet (which weren't available when I was in school) would make it very easy to memorize a poem word by word, and then line by line.
Eventually this thought began to morph from a conception of something that I would do someday once I was finally ready, to a project I could begin to start right now, at least a little bit. I might not know all the grammar yet, but with the aid of an online dictionary and publicly available translations, I could still start slowly memorizing bits of poems.
I decided to start with Catullus. For no particular reason, just because I got the impression that Latin students often studied Catullus. Initially I was going to just use online versions of his poems, but then I got the idea that if I was going to do this project, I might as well order a book. That way I at least get to add it to my book list, and have another book to talk about on this blog. So I ordered The Student's Catullus.
While I was looking for Latin books on Amazon, Amazon made me aware of an unofficial supplement to Wheelock's Latin: Thirty-Eight Latin Stories by Anne H. Gorton and James M. May (Designed to accompany the chapters of Wheelock's Latin). So, I thought, I might as well. If I'm going to do the Wheelock's Latin, I might as well get the complete course.
**************
Shortly after this, I began to notice some troubling changes in Duolingo.
They've gradually been making their free version less and less user friendly, with the intention, no doubt, of eventually making it necessary to join the paid version (Super Duolingo).
I've been stubbornly sticking with the free version. And I plan on sticking with the free version forever. I don't know--even though Super Duolingo isn't all that much, something just irks me about being forced to pay money for something that I used to get for free.
That, plus the main advantage of Duolingo, as far as I'm concerned, is that it's convenient and that it's free. It's not really that great for actually learning the language. (I've written numerous-times- on this blog about my frustrations with it for learning Vietnamese.) So, I thought, if I was ever to shell out real money for language learning software, I'd do it for something with a much better reputation--like Rosetta Stone.
And then, once that thought was implanted in my mind, I then began to think that if I was going to make a transition from Duolingo to Rosetta Stone, it might be better to do it sooner rather than later. If I waited until I had worked myself up to a higher Duolingo level on my languages, then it might be frustrating to try to restart everything on Rosetta Stone. Better to start learning on them both now, so that I'd be already well established on Rosetta Stone when and if the free version of Duolingo became unusable.
So, I bought myself a lifetime membership to Rosetta Stone. (I preferred to just do a lifetime membership rather than a monthly fee--that way I can just do it at my own pace, rather than stressing about whether or not I was doing enough each month to justify the fee.)
[Actually after I already made the purchase, I learned that I can get Rosetta Stone free from my local library. I'm not sure buying your own account has any advantages, but this may have been a waste of money on my part. I think it's too late for me to get my money back, but if you're reading this, and considering Rosetta Stone, check your local library first.]
Rosetta Stone had al four of my languages (Latin, Japanese, Vietnamese and Spanish) on it, so hopefully I can get my money's worth by working through all four languages.
Actually Rosetta Stone has two versions of Spanish--Latin American Spanish and the Spanish of Spain. For the time being, I've decided to study them both. It might be interesting to compare and contrast them as I go.
[When I first started to study Vietnamese, I was initially concerned about the regional variations, and trying to find materials that reflected the Southern dialect where I lived. But around the time I was reading Chomsky's Universal Grammar, I decided that differences in regional dialects could be an interesting thing for an aspiring linguist to study, rather than something to be avoided. I think I might take the same approach with Spanish--rather than trying to pick which version to study, I could study both versions and note the similarities and differences as I go.]
So, I'm now studying both Rosetta Stone and Duolingo.
It then occurred to me: as long as I've established that I'm no longer in a monogamous relationship with Duolingo, and willing to dally with other language learning websites, then maybe I should finally check out some of these other free language learning websites.
About a year ago, a colleague in Vietnam recommended the website Drops (or Language Drops) as an alternative to Duolingo--she claimed it was much better than Duolingo. I thanked her for the recommendation, but told her my study plan was to first finish Duolingo, and then maybe tackle other programs later. (I had a hard enough time remembering all the vocabulary for Duolingo, I didn't want to add the burden of vocabulary from another website.)
But I've now abandoned my policy of "only Duolingo" in favor of relying on a number of different study materials. So why not add in Drops as well?
Drops is a bit strange. Like all these language learning websites, there's a paid version and a free version. I'm only doing the free version. On the free version, you can only study for 5 minutes a day. Although in my case, since I'm juggling several websites, 5 minutes a day is about all I can spare on this website anyway. So it works out well. You can study multiple languages at a time. (You can only do one per day--but you can work through several of them over the course of a week.) They don't have Latin, but they do have Vietnamese, Japanese, and 2 versions of Spanish, so that's what I'm studying.
Memrise is another website that was recommended to me by a colleague in Vietnam. He recommended it to me a couple of years ago, but at that time, Memrise didn't have any Vietnamese. (My colleague had been using it to study Polish.) But, I decided to check it out again, and they do have a Vietnamese course now. And a Japanese course, and 2 versions of Spanish. But no Latin.
Memrise also has a paid version and a free version. The paid version has more courses, but I'm doing the free version.
So, Drops and Memrise both didn't have Latin. In fact, most of these language learning apps and websites don't appear to have Latin. (Duolingo and Rosetta Stone have Latin, but very few other websites do.) Just out of curiosity, I wondered what other language learning websites featured Latin. I did a search, and discovered Legentibus. (It has a website, but it's only functional as an app. The website is just instructions on how to install the app on your phone.) So, I tried out Legintibus, and it does appear to be quite useful. So I'm adding that one to my rotation as well. (Legintibus also has a paid version and a free version--I'm only going with the free version once again.)
There are, I'm sure, a hundred other apps and websites for language learning. I'm currently being bombarded by ads on Facebook for new language learning apps and websites. (Facebook must be tracking my web searches and Internet purchases--of course.) Each language learning website is advertising itself as the only way to effectively learn a language, and claiming all the other language learning websites out there don't work.
But I'm done. I've reached my limit of how many language learning sites I can juggle, and I'm not going to try any more until I've worked through the ones I'm currently using.
If I finish any of these course, I'll make a Youtube video reviewing them. (And if I decide to abandon any of these websites, I might make a video about that as well.)
I'm also trying to balance my book study with all these apps.
To that end, I decided to add a couple more books to my study rotation.
I've heard so many things about the Lingua Latina Per Se Illustrata Series that I decided I finally wanted to check it out. (Much of Legintibus appears to be based on the Lingua Latina Per Se Illustrata books.) So I ordered those books.
I also finally decided I should get myself a textbook for Japanese. I had textbooks for all my other languages (here, here and here), but I had avoided getting a textbook for Japanese because I figured I knew all the basic Japanese grammar already.
Well, maybe time to try to get back into the advanced grammar, in that case. So I ordered Read Real Japanese, a book I had actually started doing years and years ago when I lived in Japan, but had never finished. Okay, time to start it up again.
And, that's everything I'm currently trying to juggle now.
It's a bit ridiculous, I know.
Back when I lived in Japan, I used to always be tempted to buy new textbooks before I finished the ones I was working on. So that near the end of my time in Japan, I had a ridiculous amount of textbooks I was trying to juggle at once.
I fear that I seem to have relapsed into that same habit now.
So, here's my promise to myself. I will add no new materials to my language study plans. Until I finish some of the material I'm currently studying, I'm not going to add in any new material. I swear it.
There. It's in writing and it's publicly on this blog. So I have to hold myself to it now.
In case anyone is interested, here is my current schedule for trying to juggle all of this material.
Counsels of Wisdom translated by Benjamin R. Foster (from Before the Muses): Summary and Discussion
From my reading of Before the Muses: An Anthology of Akkadian Literature Edited by Benjamin R. Foster
Links to Stuff mentioned:
* Wikipedia article for Counsels of Wisdom: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Counsels_of_Wisdom
* Electronic Babylonian Library article for Counsels of Wisdom: https://www.ebl.lmu.de/corpus/L/2/3
* The full text on the Electronic Babylonian Library: https://www.ebl.lmu.de/corpus/L/2/3/SB/-
Related Playlists
* Classic Books Playlist: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOY-0V_l_9x53EsuWSZ-z0uFGL_0Jl6F1&si=giDKwvKMzCWtXvzl
* Book Review Playlist: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOY-0V_l_9x7dao6py7ODX_PkUvrAEch7&si=kiFeTonJJ3Ux5H1T
* Books I read in 2025: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOY-0V_l_9x7Fev7Uv6_tzuSf84LtYwQu&si=Im1rdozRXrgGnr99
* Babylonian / Akkadian Literature Playlist: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOY-0V_l_9x5BtyzrSv3NMPA3VpzLIuq8&si=x0yeQPCkXyxtPCr4
* Before the Muses: An Anthology of Akkadian Literature Playlist: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOY-0V_l_9x4Cvg1Yw4LQyKEXIwDwo1m0&si=X6OZ7Ectw-fzHbCn
* Akkadian Literature: The Mature Period 1500-1000 BC Playlist: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOY-0V_l_9x545tikwEDqcgD_qmFqtLUF&si=XlI2gaYNnh1HGPyf
I was able to read this book thanks to the Michigan statewide state-wide interlibrary loan service called MeLCat, which may be in danger thanks to a Presidential executive order. If you, like me, enjoy using MeLCat, contact your local representatives and let them know.
Did you enjoy this review? Consider supporting me on Ko-fi: https://ko-fi.com/joelswagman
Support me on Patreon: https://patreon.com/JoelSwagman
Check out this book on Amazon: https://amzn.to/4k08VgZ (This is an Amazon Associate's Link. If you buy anything through that link, I get a commission.)
Sunday, October 19, 2025
Destination Cambodia by Walter Mason: Book Review
This is part of my so-called "Scripted Review" series, in which I make a Youtube video based on an old blogpost. For more information on what this is and why I'm doing it, see HERE:
In this case, the old blog post is here: https://joelswagman.blogspot.com/2013/11/destination-cambodia-by-walter-mason.html
Related Playlists:
Scripted Reviews Playlist: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOY-0V_l_9x5BKcEIufNKlS58JHU_glyL&si=Pje0KQqIqOgWGGUI
Scripted Book Reviews Playlist: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOY-0V_l_9x53WSp_2mGcDRHBR7ubQkDa&si=T_0QPBDOZqhqN-oa
Did you enjoy this review? Consider supporting me on Ko-fi: https://ko-fi.com/joelswagman
Support me on Patreon: https://patreon.com/JoelSwagman
Check out this book on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3WRkQEt (This is an Amazon Associate's Link. If you buy anything through that link, I get a commission.)
Saturday, October 18, 2025
Pontius Pilate by Paul L. Maier: Book Review
Started: September 17, 2025
This is a reread. I read this book before in 9th grade, and have mentioned it before on this blog here, here and here. But because this is my first time reviewing this book on this blog, according to my new rules I'm doing this as a video only review.
Links to stuff mentioned:
* God is not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything by Christopher Hitchens: Book Review: https://youtu.be/QnNFh-Mn-Eg
To read the ancient sources on Pontius Pilate, go to this website here: https://www.livius.org/articles/person/pontius-pilate/
Related Playlists:
* Books I read in 2025: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOY-0V_l_9x7Fev7Uv6_tzuSf84LtYwQu&si=Im1rdozRXrgGnr99
* Book Review Playlist: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOY-0V_l_9x7dao6py7ODX_PkUvrAEch7&si=EJ7CG8iO9IouNaYY
* Ancient History Playlist: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOY-0V_l_9x7tomUoLdvaX2CsHML6AjHz&si=IOhaDc0RQGgVkRH6
* Pontius Pilate by Paul L. Maier Playlist: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOY-0V_l_9x7tl6xDCpo_NFIM5HfS0J6m&si=FMua7iHEYQHjNJKV
I was able to read this book thanks to the Michigan statewide state-wide interlibrary loan service called MeLCat, which may be in danger thanks to a Presidential executive order. If you, like me, enjoy using MeLCat, contact your local representatives and let them know.
Did you enjoy this review? Consider supporting me on Ko-fi: https://ko-fi.com/joelswagman
Support me on Patreon: https://patreon.com/JoelSwagman
Check out this book on Amazon: https://amzn.to/48sBEsq (This is an Amazon Associate's Link. If you buy anything through that link, I get a commission.)
Started: Midwest Futures by Phil Christman
Check out this book on Amazon: https://amzn.to/499fls7 (This is an Amazon Associate's Link. If you buy anything through that link, I get a commission.)
Check out this book on Amazon: https://amzn.to/499fls7 (This is an Amazon Associate's Link. If you buy anything through that link, I get a commission.)
Started: Lingua Latina Per Se Illustrata Series
I've decided to supplement my Latin study by also using the Lingua Latina Per Se Illustrata Series. This has turned out to be a rather expensive outlay, as it has turned into the purchase of 5 different books to get the whole suite of study materials. I have some doubts about whether this was a responsible use of money on my part, but as these purchases are already completed, I suppose it's no use thinking too much about it now. For better or for worse, I now have these books.
In order to avoid cluttering up this blog with multiple started posts, I'm going to include all 5 books in this post. And I'm only going to post an image for the first book, but you can follow the Amazon links to find images and more information about the other other books.
* Lingua Latina per se Illustrata, Pars I: Familia Romana--https://amzn.to/4nQSTZq
* Exercitia Latina I: Exercises for Familia Romana--https://amzn.to/47xfsfS
* Colloquia Personarum (Lingua Latina)--https://amzn.to/4nikIc5
* A Companion to Familia Romana--https://amzn.to/3W8TkCl
* Lingua Latina Per Se Illustrata: Teachers' Materials & Answer Keys for Pars I & II--https://amzn.to/49aXcdz
(These are all Amazon Associate's Links. If you buy anything through those links, I get a commission.)
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