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Stones of Erasmus — Just plain good writing, teaching, thinking, doing, making, being, dreaming, seeing, feeling, building, creating, reading
26.7.23
Deciphering the Language of Manipulation: From Billboards to Broadcasts

26.4.23
Celebrating 1,000 Posts: Reflecting on My Blogging Journey on Stones of Erasmus (Is it a Milestone Worth Celebrating? Yes! I Think it Is.)
Initially, my blog was a mishmash of embarrassing pieces of poetry and ersatz literary criticism, sprinkled in with some theology and movie reviews. Over time, my blog has evolved and become more focused. Although it still includes some of those early elements, such as movie reviews and records of my visits to random art museums, it now features a lot of educational content related to my teaching career.
One of my earliest obsessions was making things up, and my journey as a teacher has allowed me to indulge that passion. I create digital educational resources such as clip art and lesson plans that I share on my blog. I also write about my creations, sharing my experiences with my readers.
A Writer's Blog As An Excuse To Journal
The Future of Blogging
Another student asked me why I continue to write my blog when long-form writing appears dead. My blog is more permanent than other forms of social media, and I enjoy the idea that more people are likely to stumble upon it, whether through a Google search or a link somewhere. I am always surprised when old posts receive a resurgence, such as a post I wrote years ago about words from Greek mythology or a post I wrote about The Iliad, which has remained popular for some reason. The difference between long-form blogging and other types of content on the internet is that blog writers offer a unique perspective on things. I enjoy reading other blogs, such as those written by nannies or teachers, because they share their personal experiences, which is powerful.
As my blog has evolved, I have also learned some important lessons about writing. One of the most important lessons is to keep writing, even when I do not like it. I easily get discouraged when I get few views or comments on my blog. However, I have learned that if I keep writing, eventually, people will discover my work, and it will find an audience.
Another lesson I have learned is the importance of editing. Writing is a process that takes time to craft a well-written post. I often write several drafts before I am happy with the final version. It is also essential to proofread my work carefully, looking for spelling and grammatical errors. Reading my work out loud is helpful, as this helps me catch mistakes I might have missed otherwise.
Finally, I have learned that blogging is a community activity. Blogging is not just about writing for myself but also about connecting with others with similar interests.
- Grandson and Grandfather: Birthday Portrait
- Story from the Classroom: A Severe Whooshing Sound
- Top Ten Movies in Black & White
- Blaise Pascal On The Contradictory Nature of Human Beings
- Repost from Kurt Vonnegut: Liberal Crap I Don't Want to Hear Anymore
- Book Review: Repulsion as Metaphor
- Travel Postcard: That Time I Visited a Public Library in Saltillo, Mexico
- On Writer's Block — A Journal & Rant
- Thinking About the Roman God Janus On New Year’s Eve
- On St. Ann and Bourbon: A Story of a Mardi Gras Day

16.3.23
Yellow Day: A Series of Portraits in Yellow and Pink (Plucked from the Multiverse)

10.3.23
Throwback Thursday: Pictures from Senior Year in High School (And Others)

30.7.22
Musings and Photos: On First Meetings and How I Sort-Of Allude to Peekaboo in a Serious, Philosophy-Minded Kind of Way
In this post, I free associate about first meetings, love, and God knows what else!
Sometimes you have to lie back down on the concrete to see what's up there.
There’s something potentially powerful in a first meeting, So, which is why, if you watch like, um, Pre-K students or Kindergarten students, there's a struggle, a challenge in adapting to others because it's strange. It's not mother’s face; it's not home. It's not the womb. It's not the place where you grew up. It's not, it's not that, you know, and that's why like child psychologists or developmental psychologists will talk about like, um, the experiences of the young child, right before they go to school, where they, where they, um, experienced this back and forth between I'm scared; I'm safe; I'm welcomed. I'm, uh, I'm terrified; I'm. . . I'm taken in; I'm comforted, right? So this, like, gets encapsulated in the childhood game of like peekaboo. I'm here. I'm not there. So presence and absence. Um, and for me, you know, I can tap into some deep psychic shit, you know, like something, this, I can feel, like a child, when that love object is absent. I mean, it's such a strong visceral feeling, which is why I think first love for a teenager or a young adult can be so powerful and rip you apart. I mean, I can remember just longing for somebody who I was in love with, you know, wanting to be with them. And when I wasn't with them, it just was this physical feeling of absence. Um, so that's real. I mean, that's like kick to the gut emotion. Um, and perhaps you get out into the world — for me, moving from small town Louisiana to Europa to a Benedictine monastery (yes, that happened), to New York and the world again, I'm not sure what happens, but you get used to the pain — of that — of this — world. Offers or you take, or you look for; or, you pine. Are you able, you're able to sort of like sublimate, whatever you lost, what will you able to like, not replace, but you're able to sort of like transmute, whatever you lost into something new. Right? That's what art is. That's what creativity is and all that kind of stuff. Um, but going back to this original idea of like, when the, the potential power in a first meeting, right, the potential power there is, and just meeting someone for the first time, you know, um, uh, it can be such a satisfactory experience, right?
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Photos (Read From Left and Clockwise): Women in Red Dresses in Flushing; Getting off the LIRR in Port Washington; Two Dead Fish; A Fishmonger and His Assistant |

25.7.22
Journal Entry #2502022: I Woke Up This Morning on a Hot, Summer Day in Queens and I Fiddled
On Astoria Boulevard in Queens, there is a mural of a 7 subway train car; The author notes, "As I waited for my take-out, I snapped a picture of the fish in the aquarium. Life is good." |

8.8.21
Travel Postcard: That Time I Visited a Public Library in Saltillo, Mexico
In this post, I write about finding a photograph of me standing in front of a public library in Saltillo, Mexico.
Greig poses in front of a public library in the city of Saltillo in Coahuila, Mexico (c. 1998). |
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La Biblioteca Publica del Estado, Coahuila, Saltillo — Image Credit: Photo archived by Gerardo Zárate |

11.7.21
Journey to Willow Lake in Queens (And There and Back Again, Out of the Bog)
In this post, I take a walk to a hiking trail next to Willow Lake in Queens. It's a marshland in the middle of a metropolis.
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View of Willow Lake in Queens (Looking Northwest) |
Would you believe me if I told you I'm still in New York City but surrounded by marshland, wet bugs, bees, and butterflies born from under the weeds of the milkweed plant? I am.
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Pat Dolan Trail |
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Another view from Willow Lake |

31.5.21
Travel Diary #34598: On A Memorial Day in Oyster Bay, Nassau County on a Wet, Rainy, Cusp-of-Summer Afternoon
And we hung out in a nature preserve. OMG. I felt like a kid. Going down random trails. Even though it was rainy, it was glorious. And I cooked a whole chicken and watched Dangerous Liaisons on HBO Max — the one with Glenn Close and John Malkovich as conniving ex-lovers in nineteenth-century France. It was a fun diversion.

12.5.21
Why Wednesday Is the Day of the Week to Send Messages (Because of Woden, or, as the Greeks Call Him, Hermes)
Wednesday is named for Woden — the Norse parallel for the Greek and Roman messenger god Hermes.
Ephemera
I’m obsessed with messages, epistolary novels, and journeys and undertakings. I never 👎 skip by a note or love letter. Even a torn letter I see on the sidewalk. I'll pick it up. And save it. And I love to eat tears and swallow joy.
My friends say I’m constantly flexing. My students want the school year to end. I’m listening to lots of books on tape and cooking lots of sausages and egg salad.
Achievements
I’m proud of my student @jukycheng, who got accepted into a Summer engineering program at NYU Tandon in Brooklyn. Congrats, Juky!
And I’m also excited for the Summer—those dog days. But I’m into May. With its warm afternoons and occasional showers.
Let's Chat!
How are you holding up? Need a hug? Here’s one. Need a nudge? Here’s one? Need a ride on a white swan? I don’t have that, but drop me a message if you want to chat about YA novels and the best place to walk in New York City.

11.4.21
A Paean to Payphones (And Why I Feel Nostalgic for Old School Telecommunication)
When is the last time you used a working payphone? How sure are you that you can find one if your mobile phone goes dead? Do you have a quarter in your pocket?
Found a working payphone in the Times Square / 42nd Street Station in New York City |
Nostalgia is dangerous. Start feeling nostalgia, and suddenly, everything in the present is suspect. "Oh, I remember the days when you had to call someone on a landline."
But I like it when old-school technology still persists. I don't want to return to using payphones. They are clunky (and who has change, anyway?). And just when the conversation gets good, you have to add another quarter to continue the call.
You can find a working payphone in a few subway stations, strip malls, maybe a gas station in Duluth?
I used a payphone recently. I cannot remember why. It was when I was traveling. My phone was dead. I think it was in an Amtrak station (which I feel like is where I would find a working payphone).
Ironically, the school where I work has a payphone in the main hallway. But it does not work. It just hangs there on the wall. Hundreds of people walk by it. Heck. I didn't even notice it until like two years working at the school. I think it will become an art installation. Soon.
Fun fact: Payphones still exist. And one in five of them are in New York City! The Federal Communications Commission still regulates payphones. They still maintain a tip guide for using them and not get scammed when using a calling card. Remember those?
When was the last time you used a payphone?

31.3.21
Spring Break with Jambalaya and Friends and Why I Love Faces (and Portraits!)
In Diversity Plaza in Queens on a Spring Day |
distancing guidelines are still in place, being vaccinated means I can hang out with folks I haven’t been with since March of last year. I saw my friend Michelle and her family, and I made jambalaya for a group of teacher-friends. By the way — the jambalaya was lit 🔥.

12.3.21
A Year Ago Today: Going into Lockdown Because of the Coronavirus Outbreak in the United States (and the World)
Greig Roselli poses for the one year anniversary of living through Covid-19 in these United States. |
One Year Ago Today
Today is March 12th in the Year of Our Lord Twenty Twenty-One. Last year today, I was in a faculty meeting. “We’re not closing school,” they said. By Sunday, we were in lockdown. And the rest is history.
I feel like I’m living through a historic moment like folks who lived through the Great Depression and hoarded pennies in their mattresses.
What Will Future Generations Say?
Future generations will ask, “What was On the corner of 37th
Avenue and 79th Street
in Jackson Heights, Queens
the Twenty Twentys like?” My friend Amira’s child, who is now ten months old, will want to know what he did during the quarantine. “Mostly eat and sleep,” Mom will say. “But it was a long time before you saw real people besides the doctors who birthed you and us.” And Sam will say, “OK. I survived a global pandemic.”
Recognizing That This is a Deadly Virus
As of today, 532,466 people have died in the United States; and, worldwide over 2.5 million people have perished. I recognize I’m privileged because I’m vaccinated and generally healthy (although I need to lay off the potato chips and ranch dressing). The pandemic has disproportionately hit the most vulnerable of society. I realize I’m in-person with students — so there’s always a risk I can be infected. But think about folks who work essential jobs and live in small apartments where everyone is working, coming into contact with many people. I can slink away to the haven of a more-or-less safe space in my apartment.
I think this global crisis has revealed just how fragile the ties that bind are. I’m grateful for today. I mourn those lost to Covid-19, and I’m hopeful for the future.
How was your Covid-19 lockdown anniversary — and how are you coping? Let me know in the comments. Kristen Ahfeld is a
First Grade Teacher in Queens.
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#covidkindnesswes #covi̇dkindness #covıdkindness #covidkindnesseverydaychallenge #covidkindnessstories #covidkindnessplease #covidkindness🙏 #staysafe #covidkindness🙏🏽 #stayhome #covidkindness💙💛 #covidkindnessneeded #covidkindness❣️ #covidkindnesss #covidkindness🤟🏻🙏🏻❤️ #covidkindness1 #quarantine #covid #covid19 #covidkindnesses #socialdistancing #covidkindnesscookieproject #covidkindnessnailcollab #covidkindness❤️❤️ #love #covidkindnessau #covidkindnesswmbg #covidkindnessuhp #coronavirus #covidkindnessca

6.3.21
Another Day of Concurrent Teaching: Covid-19 Pandemic Teacher Journal #2
Mr. Roselli wears a "get lit" tee.
I teach teenagers concurrently in person and kids learning remotely. To build community, my co-teacher @amiraesposito5585 and I call the in-person kids Roomies and the distance learning kids, Zoomies.
American teens aren’t reading less — they’re just reading fewer classics. They’re reading on their phones, on the Internet — listening to stories via audiobooks and podcasts. Literacy is changing, and I’m excited about it.
The tee-shirt reads, “Get lit.” Get it? I struggle with authenticity. How real is too real? Where do I go to find folks who look 👀 like me, act like me, think 🤔 like me? Literature. In my classroom. Young people. People who think differently. Radical openness. It’s something I teach. But it’s also the ultimate pleasure. Literature — it’s the best tea. And whether it’s Satan being emo in Paradise Lost or Rashad in American Boys (@jasonreynolds83) reflecting on his blackness in America or Felix in Felix Ever After (@kacen.callender) navigating high school as a trans boy in New York — characters in literature come alive for me.
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#readingtime #bookphotography#instagood #love #motivation#bookish #education #instabook#booklover #booklove #bookstagram#photography #book #read#booksbooksbooks #art #bookworm#bookstagrammer #bibliophile#bookshelf #inspiration #reader#teacher #teachersofinstagram#booknerd #bookaholic #learning#readersofinstagram#booksofinstagram #bookaddict via stonesoferasmus.com Image Credit: @kfs0520 @stonesoferasmus
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Students' Chalkboard Art: I am teaching Paradise Lost |

27.2.21
Paint Night: We Did Van Gogh's Sunflowers
I’m no Van Gogh. I have both 👂. But I love a good communal 🎨. With my collegial krewe, we paint and pass the time.

25.12.20
Christmas Day Photography Journal: Romantic Musings On Found Objects (And Some Tibetan-style Momo)
Inspired by the Romantics, I find inspiration in the everyday material world.
A bike covered in pigeon droppings. OK. That’s ewwwww. But. Look.
A bowl of grits, green onions, and cheesy eggs.
Me looking at art books.
A snapshot from my favorite mobile game @taptapfish.

25.9.20
Street Photography: 74th Street in Jackson Heights, Queens (Plus Some Creative Writing)
What was supposed to be a walk to increase my daily steps turned into a journey. People pop out. Restaurants offer outside seating. The night is crisp. Saturn and Jupiter are still visible in the sky — on the way to convergence. I wanted to get more faces in my photographs. But the moments passed by too quickly. I saw a masked guy in a cab. He was balefully looking out a window. The Q49 bus runs along 74th Street. Wear your mask.
Today in class an adolescent pupil couldn’t answer a question — so she said to me, “This question makes me feel unsafe.” I was taken aback by her statement. It’s the Covid. I imagined her shrieking out of class. By an unsafe question. I’m teaching a course on mythology. And one characteristic of myth is the unknown. So I get it, girl. Stuff gets real. From chaos to calm. From the womb to the tomb.
