We had a "snow day" in a Texas August. Actually, there was a storm and the school lost power all day. So no school. Which is not so great, because I meet my first parent at 7:45 a.m. Monday, and my room's not ready.
In the evening there was a get-together barbecue at the Head's house. I went and ate and join in the peripheries of conversations. I'm not a very social creature, and I don't have much in common with most of my co-workers.
Father is not improving.
Friday, August 15, 2008
Thursday, August 14, 2008
A penchant for comparisons might have been withheld from me.
I was mistaken; the sexual harassment meeting is tomorrow.
Instead I attended two meetings that were reminiscent of the one discussed here, which was generally recognized (and frowned upon) as tracking by the commenters.
In the first, we (the K teachers) read out our kids' names, one by one, and the pre-K teachers who had those kids would call out a few lines encapsulating their general impression from the year. "A sweet kid." "Very needy." "Super bright, but needs to be pushed." "She needs to be told she's not in charge." "High-maintenance parents." "A bit behind academically, but eager to please." That sort of thing. The second meeting was much the same, except that the first grade team read out their kids' names and the K teachers called out their own assessments. The grade taking in the kids took notes.
I suppose it's a helpful process, but there really was a lot of pigeonholing going on. The teachers didn't frame their descriptions in terms of specific events (such as "last year he cried a lot"), but generally phrased them in the present tense and in such a way as to tar the student with that particular brush: "he's a crier."
Frankly, if we must have such meetings, I'd like for the language to be a lot more curtailed, so that teachers are stating just observable facts instead of making proclamations about what the next year's team should expect. And then we can take notes and file those notes away and not look at them again until the end of the year. And then we'll see whether the notes match what actually happened.
I'm not saying it wasn't an interesting session, or even that I didn't come away from it feeling a bit more prepared for my kids. (For example, Ms. C telling me that a certain girl is a great kid, but needs to feel comforted and safe, led to me making a mental note to make sure that girl understands that my room is a welcoming, safe place.) However, it does go against all the data from studies about high expectations. Statistically, if a teacher is told that a low-performing student is a high-performing student, that kid rises to the level of expectation.
Is it better just to go in blind, each kid a blank slate? Don't know. If I knew everything, I'd be able to afford a nice house.
Instead I attended two meetings that were reminiscent of the one discussed here, which was generally recognized (and frowned upon) as tracking by the commenters.
In the first, we (the K teachers) read out our kids' names, one by one, and the pre-K teachers who had those kids would call out a few lines encapsulating their general impression from the year. "A sweet kid." "Very needy." "Super bright, but needs to be pushed." "She needs to be told she's not in charge." "High-maintenance parents." "A bit behind academically, but eager to please." That sort of thing. The second meeting was much the same, except that the first grade team read out their kids' names and the K teachers called out their own assessments. The grade taking in the kids took notes.
I suppose it's a helpful process, but there really was a lot of pigeonholing going on. The teachers didn't frame their descriptions in terms of specific events (such as "last year he cried a lot"), but generally phrased them in the present tense and in such a way as to tar the student with that particular brush: "he's a crier."
Frankly, if we must have such meetings, I'd like for the language to be a lot more curtailed, so that teachers are stating just observable facts instead of making proclamations about what the next year's team should expect. And then we can take notes and file those notes away and not look at them again until the end of the year. And then we'll see whether the notes match what actually happened.
I'm not saying it wasn't an interesting session, or even that I didn't come away from it feeling a bit more prepared for my kids. (For example, Ms. C telling me that a certain girl is a great kid, but needs to feel comforted and safe, led to me making a mental note to make sure that girl understands that my room is a welcoming, safe place.) However, it does go against all the data from studies about high expectations. Statistically, if a teacher is told that a low-performing student is a high-performing student, that kid rises to the level of expectation.
Is it better just to go in blind, each kid a blank slate? Don't know. If I knew everything, I'd be able to afford a nice house.
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
So much unlearnt, so much resigned
This morning we had a meeting on employee practices. You know, show up on time, be professional, confidentiality, etc.
And, for the ladies, "no cleavage." As one of the administration said, "Cleavage doesn't just mean you have boobs." (That is, even flat-chested ladies need to keep the necklines high --- showing any expanse of chest skin is not professional.) Also, apparently some of them need to bring sweaters to wrap around their waists, for when they crouch down in those low-cut jeans.
Not that I would, uh, know anything about that. I always avert my eyes. (Damn all these dress code regulations!)
Oslo, we had CPR training. I've taken first aid and CPR classes for nigh on ten year now, and this was one of the easiest and briefest. Apparently, all the repetitions have been equalized, whether for adult, child, or infant victims: two breaths, 30 compressions. Good, because I never could keep all the different ratios straight.
We practiced our breathing and pushing on some dummies. Then we watched the instructor model how to use an AED. The AED talks, telling you to calm down. Apparently it even will tell you to push harder if you're not doing the compressions right. Next stop: android medics. The instructor happily encouraged us to rip out the victim's nipple ring, if present, before applying the patches. Several of my coworkers cringed and winced at that. I myself don't have piercings, or care to look at them.
The instructor even brought a little dog dummy. A teacher asked, "Are we going to learn how to blow a dog?"
Later, when the instructor was, yes, showing us how to perform CPR on the dog dummy, she mentioned variants in the procedure when trying to save gerbils. Yes, really. A Pre-K teacher dared me to ask how to revive unconscious lizards, so I did, and we were rewarded with a straight-faced story of a teacher who once revived a turtle.
Tomorrow: sexual harassment training.
Yes.... "I already know how to do that." I made that joke early and often.
And, for the ladies, "no cleavage." As one of the administration said, "Cleavage doesn't just mean you have boobs." (That is, even flat-chested ladies need to keep the necklines high --- showing any expanse of chest skin is not professional.) Also, apparently some of them need to bring sweaters to wrap around their waists, for when they crouch down in those low-cut jeans.
Not that I would, uh, know anything about that. I always avert my eyes. (Damn all these dress code regulations!)
Oslo, we had CPR training. I've taken first aid and CPR classes for nigh on ten year now, and this was one of the easiest and briefest. Apparently, all the repetitions have been equalized, whether for adult, child, or infant victims: two breaths, 30 compressions. Good, because I never could keep all the different ratios straight.
We practiced our breathing and pushing on some dummies. Then we watched the instructor model how to use an AED. The AED talks, telling you to calm down. Apparently it even will tell you to push harder if you're not doing the compressions right. Next stop: android medics. The instructor happily encouraged us to rip out the victim's nipple ring, if present, before applying the patches. Several of my coworkers cringed and winced at that. I myself don't have piercings, or care to look at them.
The instructor even brought a little dog dummy. A teacher asked, "Are we going to learn how to blow a dog?"
Later, when the instructor was, yes, showing us how to perform CPR on the dog dummy, she mentioned variants in the procedure when trying to save gerbils. Yes, really. A Pre-K teacher dared me to ask how to revive unconscious lizards, so I did, and we were rewarded with a straight-faced story of a teacher who once revived a turtle.
Tomorrow: sexual harassment training.
Yes.... "I already know how to do that." I made that joke early and often.
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
Now I could tell you what I'm thinking, but it never seems to do me good
Went to see father in the hospital. He seemed have just a bit more pep, possibly due to whatever solution they were pumping into him. But he's not eating, and the nurse expressed concern at that. I encouraged him to eat, but he refused all entreaties. My brother and I think his mkain problem is attitude. He's always been a pessimistic person, and now he may have convinced himself that he's "on the way out," as he himself put it without emotion.
***
Still putting the room together at work. Every new thing I do seems to bring up five more little chores that need to be done. I need to set up an All About Me board, a Word Wall, name tags for chairs, a job chart... It seems endless, and the kids arrive Wednesday.
I wrote sixteen postcards --- one to each of my students --- and boy is my hand tired. Good night.
***
Still putting the room together at work. Every new thing I do seems to bring up five more little chores that need to be done. I need to set up an All About Me board, a Word Wall, name tags for chairs, a job chart... It seems endless, and the kids arrive Wednesday.
I wrote sixteen postcards --- one to each of my students --- and boy is my hand tired. Good night.
Monday, August 11, 2008
When you're sick you need a doctor; it's like the doctor holds a gun
My father went to the doctor today. He was admitted to the hospital for observation. Hopefully some IV antibiotics and some nutrient solution will push him back off the brink.
Also, first day back to work. Staff week, no kids. Breakfast and lunch were generously provided. We had a few meetings, mostly about the new technology --- all the rooms have interactive whiteboards now.
My assistant, C, was formerly one of the substitute teacher team I was on last year. Now she's working part time. And, I discovered, has apparently reverted back to her maiden name. I suppose she got divorced? I didn't ask. Anyway, I'm extremely grateful to have her as an assistant, as she likes to keep busy, like me, and eschews most of the gossip that goes around.
There's around 75 employees at Prestigious. Male employees total: me, the Head, the two custodians, the computer guy, the admissions guy, the drama teacher (gay), the music teacher (gay), a fourth-grade teacher, and a pre-K teacher. Conversation tends to get a bit hennish at times, is all I'm saying.
All the new teachers got MacBooks. I forgot my power cord at school after I took mine home, so it may be utterly drained and ruined by tomorrow? I'm not very responsible with equipment.
***
Fact: Fruit tastes better at room temperature.
Water is the scarcest and most obligatory resource on earth. Unlike coal and oil and so forth, which are scarce and merely crucial to our civilization, we would die if we didn't have water for just four days. So what do we Americans do with it?
We wash our clothes in clean, pure, potable water, first poisoning the supply with soap and sending it down the drains.
We pour clean, pure, potable water all over grass in the summertime.
We piss into clean, pure, potable water. Then we pour another gallon and a half of clean, pure, potable water over it, because we think that's clean.
We're nuts.
Also, first day back to work. Staff week, no kids. Breakfast and lunch were generously provided. We had a few meetings, mostly about the new technology --- all the rooms have interactive whiteboards now.
My assistant, C, was formerly one of the substitute teacher team I was on last year. Now she's working part time. And, I discovered, has apparently reverted back to her maiden name. I suppose she got divorced? I didn't ask. Anyway, I'm extremely grateful to have her as an assistant, as she likes to keep busy, like me, and eschews most of the gossip that goes around.
There's around 75 employees at Prestigious. Male employees total: me, the Head, the two custodians, the computer guy, the admissions guy, the drama teacher (gay), the music teacher (gay), a fourth-grade teacher, and a pre-K teacher. Conversation tends to get a bit hennish at times, is all I'm saying.
All the new teachers got MacBooks. I forgot my power cord at school after I took mine home, so it may be utterly drained and ruined by tomorrow? I'm not very responsible with equipment.
***
Fact: Fruit tastes better at room temperature.
Water is the scarcest and most obligatory resource on earth. Unlike coal and oil and so forth, which are scarce and merely crucial to our civilization, we would die if we didn't have water for just four days. So what do we Americans do with it?
We wash our clothes in clean, pure, potable water, first poisoning the supply with soap and sending it down the drains.
We pour clean, pure, potable water all over grass in the summertime.
We piss into clean, pure, potable water. Then we pour another gallon and a half of clean, pure, potable water over it, because we think that's clean.
We're nuts.
Sunday, August 10, 2008
Sunday Warbooks: The First World War, Martin Gilbert
Hey! I have a degree in history! I like to read! I like military history! Why not?
The First World War: A Complete History, by Martin Gilbert.
This very long work is essentially a chronology of the Great War, from the rapid escalation of tension before August 1914 to the problems of armistice in 1918 and how they affected state relations in the 1930s. Gilbert, better known as the official biographer of Churchill, manages to humanize the war here. He often makes all too real the nine million military dead of WWI through use of poems, quotes and letters written home by the men who died, as well as graphic recollections by nurses who served at the front (one image that stays with me is a hospital room full of nothing but amputated limbs).
It’s fascinating reading and broad in scope, but it does have its problems. First, the endless litany style does grate after a while. Second, Gilbert is intensely pro-Anglo-American. Thus he ignores all the fighting out of Europe, and while he mentionsJapan
In all, it's an impressive feat of scholarship, and tremendously informative for those with little or no grasp of WWI. Its omissions might leave history neophytes with the wrong idea, however, if they aren't scared off by its great length in the first place.
The First World War: A Complete History, by Martin Gilbert.
This very long work is essentially a chronology of the Great War, from the rapid escalation of tension before August 1914 to the problems of armistice in 1918 and how they affected state relations in the 1930s. Gilbert, better known as the official biographer of Churchill, manages to humanize the war here. He often makes all too real the nine million military dead of WWI through use of poems, quotes and letters written home by the men who died, as well as graphic recollections by nurses who served at the front (one image that stays with me is a hospital room full of nothing but amputated limbs).
It’s fascinating reading and broad in scope, but it does have its problems. First, the endless litany style does grate after a while. Second, Gilbert is intensely pro-Anglo-American. Thus he ignores all the fighting out of Europe, and while he mentions
In all, it's an impressive feat of scholarship, and tremendously informative for those with little or no grasp of WWI. Its omissions might leave history neophytes with the wrong idea, however, if they aren't scared off by its great length in the first place.
Saturday, August 09, 2008
Election 2008 Fact Sheet
Normally, I don't blog politics, because (1) people's hatred of truth and facts makes me sad and angry, and (2) so many people, even non-professionals like Dave, do it so much better than me. But I've been kicking around the idea of an election fact sheet for a while, so here it is.
By the by, I note that Obama's lead in the polls has been shrinking. Is this racism in Democrats kicking in as the reality of a black president looms closer? Or are people swallowing McCain's continual hammering of Obama (and the facts)?
Speaking of which: see the intriguing portrait of the candidate as a pile of words, via the Boston Globe. Someone can't stop thinking about his opponent!
But enough of that. Below, a collection of refutations and facts on the nominees that the mainstream media doesn't seem to want to talk about. This page may be edited several times before the election.
Let's start with the tragically necessary, refuting racist and fear-mongering lies:
* On Obama’s patriotism
Fact: Obama is not and never has been a Muslim.
http://www.snopes.com/politics/obama/church.asp
Fact: Obama was not educated in a madrassa.
http://www.cnn.com/2007/politics/01/22/obama.madrassa/
Fact: Obama does not take contributions from Arab or any other non-US source.
http://www.snopes.com/politics/obama/donations.asp
Fact: Obama will and does recite the pledge of allegiance.
http://my.barackobama.com/page/invite/patriot
Fact: Obama is a U.S. citizen. Seriously, lies about his citizenship are really scraping the barrel.
http://www.factcheck.org/elections-2008/born_in_the_usa.html
* On elitism
(I love that "elitist" word these country-club Republican millionaires love to toss around. Actually, of course, Republicans, not Democrats, are more likely to be elitists who do not care about everyday Americans.)
http://stubbornliberal.blogspot.com/2006/03/republican-elitists.h
Fact: Phil Gramm, McCain’s top economic advisor at the time, a multi-millionaire who has never stopped suckling on the government teat, said that Americans who are having economic troubles "whine" and "complain."
http://talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/203634.php http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0708/11658.html
Fact: Dick Cheney, the vice president of theUSA
http://abcnews.go.com/wn/vote2008/story?id=4481249
Fact: for all Americans earning less than $277,000, taxes will go down under Obama's plan. Americans who make average, working class wages – not the wages of the elitist super-rich – will pay less taxes under Obama.
http://money.cnn.com/2008/06/20/magazines/fortune/Evolution_McCain_Whitford.fortune/ http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/6/11/141710/9
Fact: under a Republican president and his long-time Washington millionaire insiders, the dollar has slipped to a new low and oil to a new high. Jobs are scarce. Meanwhile, oil companies are making the biggest profits in the history of the world. That's as elitist as it gets.
http://money.cnn.com/2008/07/15/markets/dollar/
http://thinkprogress.org/2008/08/01/unemployment-rate-rises-as-51000-jobs-were-lost-in-july/
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8646744/
Fact: McCain is so elitist and removed from the everyday concerns of the American people he didn't know in June 2008 how much gas cost.
http://redgreenandblue.org/2008/07/02/just-like-bush-mccain
Fact: McCain is so wealthy as to not understand anything about how the average hard working American lives. Note, for example, his $520 shoes, his many houses, etc.
http://www.crooksandliars.com/2008/07/31/400-haircuts-vs-520-italian-leather-loafers
* On spending
Fact: it is Republicans, not Democrats, who are big government, tax-and-spend porkers who waste hard-working Americans' tax dollars.
http://www.lafn.org/gvdc/natl_debt_chart.html
Fact: the Bush administration has squandered our great military onIraq
http://www.populistamerica.com/what_happened_to_the_land_of_the_free
http://www.statesman.com/opinion/content/editorial/stories/07/03/0704satullo_edit.html
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/01/12/ap/politics/mainD8MJRGCO0.shtml
Fact: McCain repeatedly falsifies Obama's tax plan. Again, Obama's tax plan actually means less tax burden for 90% of Americans.
http://www.factcheck.org/elections-2008/more_tax_deceptions.htmlFact: Most of McCain's financial backers are lobbyists.
http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/story?id=4210251
* On "the liberal media"
Fact: the media is much harsher on Obama than it is on McCain, often glossing over McCain's flaws (see next section).
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/07/27/study-networks-much-tough_n_115184.html
(Could it be they don't spend as much air time on McCain because [1] he's uninteresting and [2] to do so, they'd have to spotlight his flaws?)
* On "family values"
(Personally, I think that a candidate's sexual peccadilloes are between him and his family, and far less important than other more impeachable offenses, but, you know, Republicans claim to think it's a big deal, at least when a Democrat does it. So sexual values are discussed here as well. Hey, if John Edwards' affair is news, why not McCain's?)
Fact: McCain has links to the Keating Five and falsified his tax returns.
http://mccainkeatingfive.com/?p=1
Fact: McCain left his first wife, Carol, after she was disfigured in a car crash, to marry a much younger heiress.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-1024927/the-wife-john-mccain-callously-left-behind.html
Fact: the second marriage was just weeks after the divorce; he was seeing Cindy while still married to Carol. This fact was glossed over in his memoirs.
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-divorce11-2008jul11,0,6546861.story
Fact: McCain admits to having affairs while married to Carol.
http://www.azcentral.com/news/specials/mccain/articles/0301mccainbio-chapter5.html
Fact: The FCC rebuked McCain for trying to use influence for the woman he had an affair with, Vicki Iseman. So, not only did he commit adultery, his affair influenced how he used political power.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/02/20/vicki-iseman-who-is-mcca_n_87692.html
Fact: Cindy McCain became addicted to prescription drugs and stole from her employer to get them.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cindy_mccain#Prescription_drug_addiction
http://www.salon.com/news/feature/1999/10/18/drugs/
Fact: Those close enough to see McCain away from the cameras say he makes racist jokes and uses racist language in his everyday speech.
http://www.capitolhillblue.com/cont/node/10086
Fact: McCain has flip-flopped on almost every core issue since he began his run for president.
http://www.thecarpetbaggerreport.com/flipflops
Fact: The McCains adopted a baby girl from Bangladesh. Terrific! But why did they concoct a story that Mother Teresa herself implored them to do it? Is it because the truth is never exciting enough for an inveterate liar?
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mark-nickolas/the-anatomy-of-a-deceptio_b_120381.html
* On experience and fitness
Fact: McCain is computer illiterate and graduated 894th out of 899 at his naval academy.
http://buzzfeed.com/scott/mccain-894th-out-of-899-at-school
Fact: McCain is consistently ill-informed on world issues. Is this a man qualified to wage war and help build a global economy?
http://www.thecarpetbaggerreport.com/archives/15836.html
http://www.crooksandliars.com/2008/07/14/note-to-mccain-czechoslovakia-doesnt-exist-anymore/
http://www.crooksandliars.com/2008/07/23/mccain-falsely-credits-the-surge-for-catalyzing-anbar-awakening/
Fact: McCain makes a lot of gaffes when talking about world affairs.
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0708/11939.html
http://www.thedailybackground.com/2008/08/15/whoops-the-deaths-of-54-million-africans-just-slipped-john-mccains-mind/
Fact: While McCain makes gaffes, the rest of the world has proven more than willing to work with Obama.
http://wonkette.com/401380/mccain-tricks-obama-into-massive-global-win
* Attacks on Obama, hypocritical
Fact: if you're all up in arms about Michelle Obama's "proud of America" comment, note that McCain said he did not love America until becoming a POW.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/06/19/watch-mccain-didnt-love-a_n_108191.html
http://tpmcafe.talkingpointsmemo.com/talk/2008/06/mccain-i-didnt-really-love-ame.php
Fact: if you're all up in arms about Obama's pastor Wright, you ought to be equally concerned about McCain’s former buddy and endorser John Hagee, who called the Catholic church "the great whore" and makes some pretty radical comments about Hitler and the Jews.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/05/21/mccain-backer-hagee-said_n_102892.html
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/02/29/john-hagees-mccain-endor_n_89189.html
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/politics/la-na-mccain23-2008may23,0,5141859.story
Fact: if you think McCain has a point in deriding Obama for his 'celebrity factor," you should know that McCain's own website described him as being a "political celebrity." And before his presidential campaign, he accepted offers to be in television and movies.
http://www.jedreport.com/2008/08/mccain-calls-se.html
http://www.spike.com/video/2696159
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Myu9USHP61o
By the by, I note that Obama's lead in the polls has been shrinking. Is this racism in Democrats kicking in as the reality of a black president looms closer? Or are people swallowing McCain's continual hammering of Obama (and the facts)?
Speaking of which: see the intriguing portrait of the candidate as a pile of words, via the Boston Globe. Someone can't stop thinking about his opponent!
But enough of that. Below, a collection of refutations and facts on the nominees that the mainstream media doesn't seem to want to talk about. This page may be edited several times before the election.
Let's start with the tragically necessary, refuting racist and fear-mongering lies:
* On Obama’s patriotism
Fact: Obama is not and never has been a Muslim.
http://www.snopes.com/politics/obama/church.asp
Fact: Obama was not educated in a madrassa.
http://www.cnn.com/2007/politics/01/22/obama.madrassa/
Fact: Obama does not take contributions from Arab or any other non-US source.
http://www.snopes.com/politics/obama/donations.asp
Fact: Obama will and does recite the pledge of allegiance.
http://my.barackobama.com/page/invite/patriot
Fact: Obama is a U.S. citizen. Seriously, lies about his citizenship are really scraping the barrel.
http://www.factcheck.org/elections-2008/born_in_the_usa.html
* On elitism
(I love that "elitist" word these country-club Republican millionaires love to toss around. Actually, of course, Republicans, not Democrats, are more likely to be elitists who do not care about everyday Americans.)
http://stubbornliberal.blogspot.com/2006/03/republican-elitists.h
Fact: Phil Gramm, McCain’s top economic advisor at the time, a multi-millionaire who has never stopped suckling on the government teat, said that Americans who are having economic troubles "whine" and "complain."
http://talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/203634.php http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0708/11658.html
Fact: Dick Cheney, the vice president of the
http://abcnews.go.com/wn/vote2008/story?id=4481249
Fact: for all Americans earning less than $277,000, taxes will go down under Obama's plan. Americans who make average, working class wages – not the wages of the elitist super-rich – will pay less taxes under Obama.
http://money.cnn.com/2008/06/20/magazines/fortune/Evolution_McCain_Whitford.fortune/ http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/6/11/141710/9
Fact: under a Republican president and his long-time Washington millionaire insiders, the dollar has slipped to a new low and oil to a new high. Jobs are scarce. Meanwhile, oil companies are making the biggest profits in the history of the world. That's as elitist as it gets.
http://money.cnn.com/2008/07/15/markets/dollar/
http://thinkprogress.org/2008/08/01/unemployment-rate-rises-as-51000-jobs-were-lost-in-july/
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8646744/
Fact: McCain is so elitist and removed from the everyday concerns of the American people he didn't know in June 2008 how much gas cost.
http://redgreenandblue.org/2008/07/02/just-like-bush-mccain
Fact: McCain is so wealthy as to not understand anything about how the average hard working American lives. Note, for example, his $520 shoes, his many houses, etc.
http://www.crooksandliars.com/2008/07/31/400-haircuts-vs-520-italian-leather-loafers
* On spending
Fact: it is Republicans, not Democrats, who are big government, tax-and-spend porkers who waste hard-working Americans' tax dollars.
http://www.lafn.org/gvdc/natl_debt_chart.html
Fact: the Bush administration has squandered our great military on
http://www.populistamerica.com/what_happened_to_the_land_of_the_free
http://www.statesman.com/opinion/content/editorial/stories/07/03/0704satullo_edit.html
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/01/12/ap/politics/mainD8MJRGCO0.shtml
Fact: McCain repeatedly falsifies Obama's tax plan. Again, Obama's tax plan actually means less tax burden for 90% of Americans.
http://www.factcheck.org/elections-2008/more_tax_deceptions.htmlFact: Most of McCain's financial backers are lobbyists.
http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/story?id=4210251
* On "the liberal media"
Fact: the media is much harsher on Obama than it is on McCain, often glossing over McCain's flaws (see next section).
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/07/27/study-networks-much-tough_n_115184.html
(Could it be they don't spend as much air time on McCain because [1] he's uninteresting and [2] to do so, they'd have to spotlight his flaws?)
* On "family values"
(Personally, I think that a candidate's sexual peccadilloes are between him and his family, and far less important than other more impeachable offenses, but, you know, Republicans claim to think it's a big deal, at least when a Democrat does it. So sexual values are discussed here as well. Hey, if John Edwards' affair is news, why not McCain's?)
Fact: McCain has links to the Keating Five and falsified his tax returns.
http://mccainkeatingfive.com/?p=1
Fact: McCain left his first wife, Carol, after she was disfigured in a car crash, to marry a much younger heiress.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-1024927/the-wife-john-mccain-callously-left-behind.html
Fact: the second marriage was just weeks after the divorce; he was seeing Cindy while still married to Carol. This fact was glossed over in his memoirs.
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-divorce11-2008jul11,0,6546861.story
Fact: McCain admits to having affairs while married to Carol.
http://www.azcentral.com/news/specials/mccain/articles/0301mccainbio-chapter5.html
Fact: The FCC rebuked McCain for trying to use influence for the woman he had an affair with, Vicki Iseman. So, not only did he commit adultery, his affair influenced how he used political power.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/02/20/vicki-iseman-who-is-mcca_n_87692.html
Fact: Cindy McCain became addicted to prescription drugs and stole from her employer to get them.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cindy_mccain#Prescription_drug_addiction
http://www.salon.com/news/feature/1999/10/18/drugs/
Fact: Those close enough to see McCain away from the cameras say he makes racist jokes and uses racist language in his everyday speech.
http://www.capitolhillblue.com/cont/node/10086
Fact: McCain has flip-flopped on almost every core issue since he began his run for president.
http://www.thecarpetbaggerreport.com/flipflops
Fact: The McCains adopted a baby girl from Bangladesh. Terrific! But why did they concoct a story that Mother Teresa herself implored them to do it? Is it because the truth is never exciting enough for an inveterate liar?
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mark-nickolas/the-anatomy-of-a-deceptio_b_120381.html
* On experience and fitness
Fact: McCain is computer illiterate and graduated 894th out of 899 at his naval academy.
http://buzzfeed.com/scott/mccain-894th-out-of-899-at-school
Fact: McCain is consistently ill-informed on world issues. Is this a man qualified to wage war and help build a global economy?
http://www.thecarpetbaggerreport.com/archives/15836.html
http://www.crooksandliars.com/2008/07/14/note-to-mccain-czechoslovakia-doesnt-exist-anymore/
http://www.crooksandliars.com/2008/07/23/mccain-falsely-credits-the-surge-for-catalyzing-anbar-awakening/
Fact: McCain makes a lot of gaffes when talking about world affairs.
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0708/11939.html
http://www.thedailybackground.com/2008/08/15/whoops-the-deaths-of-54-million-africans-just-slipped-john-mccains-mind/
Fact: While McCain makes gaffes, the rest of the world has proven more than willing to work with Obama.
http://wonkette.com/401380/mccain-tricks-obama-into-massive-global-win
* Attacks on Obama, hypocritical
Fact: if you're all up in arms about Michelle Obama's "proud of America" comment, note that McCain said he did not love America until becoming a POW.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/06/19/watch-mccain-didnt-love-a_n_108191.html
http://tpmcafe.talkingpointsmemo.com/talk/2008/06/mccain-i-didnt-really-love-ame.php
Fact: if you're all up in arms about Obama's pastor Wright, you ought to be equally concerned about McCain’s former buddy and endorser John Hagee, who called the Catholic church "the great whore" and makes some pretty radical comments about Hitler and the Jews.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/05/21/mccain-backer-hagee-said_n_102892.html
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/02/29/john-hagees-mccain-endor_n_89189.html
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/politics/la-na-mccain23-2008may23,0,5141859.story
Fact: if you think McCain has a point in deriding Obama for his 'celebrity factor," you should know that McCain's own website described him as being a "political celebrity." And before his presidential campaign, he accepted offers to be in television and movies.
http://www.jedreport.com/2008/08/mccain-calls-se.html
http://www.spike.com/video/2696159
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Myu9USHP61o
Friday, August 08, 2008
Like the wild hyacinth which on the hills is found
So, in anticipation of the Staff Work week starting Monday, a few selected teachers had a big lunch at some Mexican place, paid for by the school. I met most of the assistants and the new teachers. In keeping with the school's apparent hiring standard (as mentioned here), most of them were quite stunning. I'm joshing, of course. They're not deliberately hiring good-looking women. It just works out that way most of the time.
No work was done or discussed; it was purely a social event. It's important at Prestigius that the faculty get along. That's why I'm always on knife-edge.
The art teacher shared a couple of great "kids say..." moments from her past that, even though they didn't happen to me, I liked enough to repeat here. First, she was showing the kids some Modigliani paintings (for example like à gauche) and emphasizing his elongated forms. She asked the kids to point out a few of the features that were elongated, and they mentioned one or two.
"What else can we see that is elongated?" she prompted.
"Your neck, Mrs. K!" one kid cried out happily.
Well, it sort of is.
The second "kids say..." moment was with a kindergarten girl (one of my favorites from Mr. C's room),
Girl: "Are you a famous artist, Mrs. K?"
K: "I'm not famous, but I am an artist."
Girl: "Maybe when you grow up you'll be famous."
K, who is past fifty: "Well, here's hoping it'll happen someday."
Girl: "I guess you'll find out after you die."
That's like a Zen koan, man.
***
Pop culture ingestion. As mentioned here, I've started watching "Lost" (at Friar's suggestion --- he thinks it's the best TV show ever, but he's, of course, utterly wrong). I'm starting the second season. Ooh! I know! They're on a modern-day version of Fantasy Island where willpower engenders miracles! And Walt's like the a cross between Mr. Roarke and that kid in The Sixth Sense!
Well, maybe not.
Also! I'm finally getting around to reading those Harry Potter books. I hear they were big with the kids a decade ago.
No work was done or discussed; it was purely a social event. It's important at Prestigius that the faculty get along. That's why I'm always on knife-edge.
The art teacher shared a couple of great "kids say..." moments from her past that, even though they didn't happen to me, I liked enough to repeat here. First, she was showing the kids some Modigliani paintings (for example like à gauche) and emphasizing his elongated forms. She asked the kids to point out a few of the features that were elongated, and they mentioned one or two."What else can we see that is elongated?" she prompted.
"Your neck, Mrs. K!" one kid cried out happily.
Well, it sort of is.
The second "kids say..." moment was with a kindergarten girl (one of my favorites from Mr. C's room),
Girl: "Are you a famous artist, Mrs. K?"
K: "I'm not famous, but I am an artist."
Girl: "Maybe when you grow up you'll be famous."
K, who is past fifty: "Well, here's hoping it'll happen someday."
Girl: "I guess you'll find out after you die."
That's like a Zen koan, man.
***
Pop culture ingestion. As mentioned here, I've started watching "Lost" (at Friar's suggestion --- he thinks it's the best TV show ever, but he's, of course, utterly wrong). I'm starting the second season. Ooh! I know! They're on a modern-day version of Fantasy Island where willpower engenders miracles! And Walt's like the a cross between Mr. Roarke and that kid in The Sixth Sense!
Well, maybe not.
Also! I'm finally getting around to reading those Harry Potter books. I hear they were big with the kids a decade ago.
Thursday, August 07, 2008
There was the Door, to which I found no Key
Given yesterday's back-and-forth with the house, I was surprised when the realtor called this morning and said now the owners said it was mine to pick again. Huh.
I'm going out there again tomorrow with the realtor, and I asked my aunt to come look at it too. But you know what? I kind of don't want the place anymore. I feel like the owners played a game of cupidity in instigating that little bidding war, and that I got pressured into offering a higher rent than was originally listed. So I'm thinking maybe I'll only take it at the original offer. I have the great luxury of being able to wait for the right place, not having to take whatever looks good first.
***
Took my father to a doctor today; he got two antidepressant prescriptions. We went to Wal-Mart to get the scrips, because they're so cheap. I haven't stepped inside a Wal-Mart for years, both because of their unethical business practices and because I can afford better than the cheap crap they sell. Still, I guess it's nice that they finagle deals that benefit those with not much money. In this case.
While I was there, I saw this machine called Redbox that rented out DVDs for a dollar a day. That's exactly the type of business scheme that rakes the poorer consumer over the coals. It sounds good, but it's a rotten deal in the long run, just like most of the cheap unhealthy disposable dross Wal-Mart sells.
There's no late fees, the box proudly proclaims; no, you just get charged another dollar every day you don't give it back. So if you're a poor working mom and you get your kids a movie, and don't find the time to get back to Wal-Mart or McDonald's or outlet mall to return it immediately, that movie cost you $7 at the end of the week. And if you lose it, the machine charges you $25. Yay! Way to overcharge for your crappy DVD!
By the way, I read somewhere that something like 60% of union families shop at Wal-Mart. Given the facts, why? Why? Why are Americans so proudly hypocritical, uninformed, and ignorant of facts?
I got lost on the way to the store and on the way back, so the whole errand took three hours. I have a terrible sense of direction.
***
And now, the Republican Horror Show Link of the Day. Here at Daily Kos, we see that McCain's negative ads are all Obama's fault. Republicans love throwing blame around. After all, it's still Clinton's fault the economy is this bad, right? Right?
I'm going out there again tomorrow with the realtor, and I asked my aunt to come look at it too. But you know what? I kind of don't want the place anymore. I feel like the owners played a game of cupidity in instigating that little bidding war, and that I got pressured into offering a higher rent than was originally listed. So I'm thinking maybe I'll only take it at the original offer. I have the great luxury of being able to wait for the right place, not having to take whatever looks good first.
***
Took my father to a doctor today; he got two antidepressant prescriptions. We went to Wal-Mart to get the scrips, because they're so cheap. I haven't stepped inside a Wal-Mart for years, both because of their unethical business practices and because I can afford better than the cheap crap they sell. Still, I guess it's nice that they finagle deals that benefit those with not much money. In this case.
While I was there, I saw this machine called Redbox that rented out DVDs for a dollar a day. That's exactly the type of business scheme that rakes the poorer consumer over the coals. It sounds good, but it's a rotten deal in the long run, just like most of the cheap unhealthy disposable dross Wal-Mart sells.
There's no late fees, the box proudly proclaims; no, you just get charged another dollar every day you don't give it back. So if you're a poor working mom and you get your kids a movie, and don't find the time to get back to Wal-Mart or McDonald's or outlet mall to return it immediately, that movie cost you $7 at the end of the week. And if you lose it, the machine charges you $25. Yay! Way to overcharge for your crappy DVD!
By the way, I read somewhere that something like 60% of union families shop at Wal-Mart. Given the facts, why? Why? Why are Americans so proudly hypocritical, uninformed, and ignorant of facts?
I got lost on the way to the store and on the way back, so the whole errand took three hours. I have a terrible sense of direction.
***
And now, the Republican Horror Show Link of the Day. Here at Daily Kos, we see that McCain's negative ads are all Obama's fault. Republicans love throwing blame around. After all, it's still Clinton's fault the economy is this bad, right? Right?
Wednesday, August 06, 2008
Evil things, in robes of sorrow, assailed the monarch's high estate
Went out to look at new places to lease again today. One was exactly what I was looking for, but when the realtor called to find out the application fee, they said it had been taken the day before. Lame. So I put in applications for two likely-looking second choices, and we heard back within an hour from one. My realtor called to say they'd approved me and it was mine if I wanted it. Then, not ten minutes later, he called back, saying that the owners now wanted to see my "highest bid" for the place before noon tomorrow. Apparently, the other applicant, upon hearing he was not approved, said they'd pay a higher rent (an offer they didn't specify to me). So the owners thought they had a little bidding war on their hands.
In this housing market? I know here in Devil-Town it's not as bad as it is elsewhere, but this is still a buyer's smorgasbord. Fuck that noise! Also, not cool to call and say I was approved only to rescind the verbal offer a few minutes later. I guess I'll keep looking.
***
My father's been visiting Brother for the last three weeks and came back tonight. Potato picked him up. I came over, of course. It turns out that he's still on the drugs from that quack meth house, still blathering the same lame excuses, still acting half-zonked. There was a scene with my mother. Voices were raised.
I know it's wrong to say about my father, but most of the time these days I think that if he wants to be a junkie, he should just leave his family out of it and go rot on Skid Row.
In this housing market? I know here in Devil-Town it's not as bad as it is elsewhere, but this is still a buyer's smorgasbord. Fuck that noise! Also, not cool to call and say I was approved only to rescind the verbal offer a few minutes later. I guess I'll keep looking.
***
My father's been visiting Brother for the last three weeks and came back tonight. Potato picked him up. I came over, of course. It turns out that he's still on the drugs from that quack meth house, still blathering the same lame excuses, still acting half-zonked. There was a scene with my mother. Voices were raised.
I know it's wrong to say about my father, but most of the time these days I think that if he wants to be a junkie, he should just leave his family out of it and go rot on Skid Row.
Tuesday, August 05, 2008
Me and my friends are like the drums on 'Lust For Life'
Today, I went looking with a realtor at houses to lease. My aunt recommended the realtor; he's a childhood friend of Cousin's, and thus exactly ten years my junior. I remember trying to teach my realtor how to play Minesweeper when he was five; he couldn't catch on for some reason. Anyway, yes, I know I've been mentioning that I'm thinking about maybe preparing to decide to possibly look into moving into a bigger house since way back in January. But this time, I may be serious!
***
Also, later on in the evening, Friar and I hitched a ride in a local band's van --- jouncing along over poor shock absorbers --- to a place where the Greatest Band In Existence was playing. It's my third time seeing Craig Finn and company, and I remain just as blown away as ever. Seriously, this band's got like a religious power over the initiated, of which I joyfully count myself one (see 'H' on this list).
I'd give a run-down of the night, but instead I'll just link to my post on the first show of theirs I saw, here.
Stay positive!
***
Also, later on in the evening, Friar and I hitched a ride in a local band's van --- jouncing along over poor shock absorbers --- to a place where the Greatest Band In Existence was playing. It's my third time seeing Craig Finn and company, and I remain just as blown away as ever. Seriously, this band's got like a religious power over the initiated, of which I joyfully count myself one (see 'H' on this list).
I'd give a run-down of the night, but instead I'll just link to my post on the first show of theirs I saw, here.
Stay positive!
Monday, August 04, 2008
And now, a message from our Savior
1. If you call yourself a Christian, and you judge people, you are not a Christian.
Judge not, that ye be not judged. For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again. And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye? Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye? [Matthew 7:1-4]
2. If you call yourself a Christian, and you are wealthy while others go without, you are not a Christian.
Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me. But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful: for he had great possessions. Then said Jesus unto his disciples, Verily I say unto you, That a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven. And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God. [Matthew 19:21-24]
Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal. But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal. [Matthew 6:19-20]
3. If you call yourself a Christian, and you start wars, you are not a Christian.
But I say unto you which hear, Love your enemies, do good to them which hate you, Bless them that curse you, and pray for them which despitefully use you. And unto him that smiteth thee on the one cheek offer also the other; and him that taketh away thy cloke forbid not to take thy coat also. [Luke 6:27-29]
4. If you call yourself a Christian, and think that means nothing but "family values," you are wrong. That oft-quoted phrase where Jesus said he came not to bring peace, but a sword? He wasn't talking about killing people in war, or about killing to defend monetary interests abroad. He was talking about breaking up families.
Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword. For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law. And a man's foes shall be they of his own household. He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. [Matthew 10:34-37]
And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say? [Luke 6:46]
Judge not, that ye be not judged. For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again. And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye? Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye? [Matthew 7:1-4]
2. If you call yourself a Christian, and you are wealthy while others go without, you are not a Christian.
Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me. But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful: for he had great possessions. Then said Jesus unto his disciples, Verily I say unto you, That a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven. And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God. [Matthew 19:21-24]
Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal. But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal. [Matthew 6:19-20]
3. If you call yourself a Christian, and you start wars, you are not a Christian.
But I say unto you which hear, Love your enemies, do good to them which hate you, Bless them that curse you, and pray for them which despitefully use you. And unto him that smiteth thee on the one cheek offer also the other; and him that taketh away thy cloke forbid not to take thy coat also. [Luke 6:27-29]
4. If you call yourself a Christian, and think that means nothing but "family values," you are wrong. That oft-quoted phrase where Jesus said he came not to bring peace, but a sword? He wasn't talking about killing people in war, or about killing to defend monetary interests abroad. He was talking about breaking up families.
Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword. For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law. And a man's foes shall be they of his own household. He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. [Matthew 10:34-37]
And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say? [Luke 6:46]
Sunday, August 03, 2008
The force that blasts the roots of trees is my destroyer
Trivia Bar, where my mother likes me to take her of a Sunday, has a promotion where a birthday celebrant gets [their age]% off the entire check for their entire party, minus alcohol. So we got there early today and had a birthday dinner at 2/3 off. My mother doesn't really have friends, but my friends --- Friar, 74, T-Bone, and their families --- came to wish her a happy one and to eat some middle-grade food. They brought their squirmy, peeved children, and left before the trivia game began. My mother, Potato, and I stayed the whole boring next three hours, and came in second.
It's not how I would pass an evening, but it's pretty much the only time my mother ever leaves her house, so I don't mind going once a week.
Hot Waitress W, still working there (I'm not entirely sure if she ever finished her certificate), said that just had to join her and her friends at her favorite bar after work at 1:30 a.m. I don't see that happening; I think I'm too old or lame or lazy for those kinds of shenanigans. Besides, I'm trying to get up earlier and earlier this week in anticipation for work starting Monday.
It's not how I would pass an evening, but it's pretty much the only time my mother ever leaves her house, so I don't mind going once a week.
Hot Waitress W, still working there (I'm not entirely sure if she ever finished her certificate), said that just had to join her and her friends at her favorite bar after work at 1:30 a.m. I don't see that happening; I think I'm too old or lame or lazy for those kinds of shenanigans. Besides, I'm trying to get up earlier and earlier this week in anticipation for work starting Monday.
Saturday, August 02, 2008
Decisions and revisions which a minute will reverse
Last month, I read a terrific book called Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by novelist and essayist Barbara Kingsolver. I already recommended this memoir to Samurai Frog; it's in my opinion essential reading for our times. In a nutshell, the book documents Kingsolver's year of eating locally, or to use our neologism-loving society's term, they became locavores.
The book begins when they move to a new house on several acres of wild land in the southernAppalachians . With a few exceptions, they eat only things that originate within 100 miles of their farm. Much of their meat and produce is grown themselves, and they make a point of knowing the origins of the other items. It’s a bit heavy on the preaching (especially the brief fact boxes from Steven Hopp, Kingsolver’s husband), but then, this is a topic very easy to get worked up about, and it makes for fascinating reading regardless. There’s a vast wealth of common-sense information here backed up with facts and figures. Just a few of the salient bits:
America
And for pity's sake, can we stop cutesifying farm animals and hiding from kids that hamburgers are cows and ham is pigs? What's wrong with telling them the truth: that we kill animals to eat? If we can't admit that as a society, what does that say about how mature our food attitudes are?
***
Speaking of health, he smoothly segued, I've doubled my walk with Dog. I don't really have any idea if I walk anywhere from .75 miles to 1.5 miles or more a day, but on the advice of my GP, I increased the walk length to get in some cardio. In the summer here in Devil-Town, where it's still a nice and toasty 98 degrees F at 8:15 p.m., this isn't the great fun it could be, but I've been doing it.
And, as I mentioned a while back, I've pretty much stopped lifting weights, on the advice of my cardiologist. I still do pushups daily and about ten minutes of desultory moves with the 45-pound dumbbell, but the heavy weights have been gathering dust for a while. I've been lifting weights since I was 18 years old, nearly 20 years, and it doesn't feel right, and I miss it. I used to have a fairly impressive upper body; now when I walk, I'm sure people wonder what that silly little fellow with the spindly arms is doing wearing a sleeveless shirt. "Cover up them pasty white twig-arms, boy!"
Well, perhaps no one actually gives a shit, but it's funny to imagine. Anyway, who am I trying to impress? I'm 37. A nearly-40-year-old fellow like me should expect a little corporal degeneration. Even if I still get carded when I buy alcohol.
The book begins when they move to a new house on several acres of wild land in the southern
- factory farmers dump a billion pounds of pesticides on our crops annually! Yes, really.
- the moral question of relying on nonrenewable fossil fuels to transport food
- the way food factories are destroying America’s health at the taxpayer's expense
- how a psychological disconnect between the making of food and the eating of food (and the harvesting of animals) is connected to America's fear of food and our obesity epidemic
- the established link between farm-raised food and good mental health
And for pity's sake, can we stop cutesifying farm animals and hiding from kids that hamburgers are cows and ham is pigs? What's wrong with telling them the truth: that we kill animals to eat? If we can't admit that as a society, what does that say about how mature our food attitudes are?
***
Speaking of health, he smoothly segued, I've doubled my walk with Dog. I don't really have any idea if I walk anywhere from .75 miles to 1.5 miles or more a day, but on the advice of my GP, I increased the walk length to get in some cardio. In the summer here in Devil-Town, where it's still a nice and toasty 98 degrees F at 8:15 p.m., this isn't the great fun it could be, but I've been doing it.
And, as I mentioned a while back, I've pretty much stopped lifting weights, on the advice of my cardiologist. I still do pushups daily and about ten minutes of desultory moves with the 45-pound dumbbell, but the heavy weights have been gathering dust for a while. I've been lifting weights since I was 18 years old, nearly 20 years, and it doesn't feel right, and I miss it. I used to have a fairly impressive upper body; now when I walk, I'm sure people wonder what that silly little fellow with the spindly arms is doing wearing a sleeveless shirt. "Cover up them pasty white twig-arms, boy!"
Well, perhaps no one actually gives a shit, but it's funny to imagine. Anyway, who am I trying to impress? I'm 37. A nearly-40-year-old fellow like me should expect a little corporal degeneration. Even if I still get carded when I buy alcohol.
Friday, August 01, 2008
As one that for a weary space has lain
Back with daily blather.
Nothing exciting this summer, I'm afraid; I had a relaxing staycation. I did nothing out of the ordinary, worked at the Old Job about a dozen times or so for a little extra cash, stayed up very late and slept in like a lord's bastard.
I loafe and invite my soul,
I lean and loafe at my ease observing a spear of summer grass.
Or, in my case, observing a DVD.
Nothing exciting this summer, I'm afraid; I had a relaxing staycation. I did nothing out of the ordinary, worked at the Old Job about a dozen times or so for a little extra cash, stayed up very late and slept in like a lord's bastard.
I loafe and invite my soul,
I lean and loafe at my ease observing a spear of summer grass.
Or, in my case, observing a DVD.
Sunday, June 01, 2008
How come that I could feel so free?
School's out! Nothing to do, at least for a week until camp starts. I got bored on Friday and went up to Prestigius to arrange my new room. Holy cow, "my new room." I'm gonna be a real teacher with real responsibility. Exciting! And very slightly anxiety-inducing.
Tomorrow I'm going back to Old Job to fill in for the day, and maybe a few more days this week. I just can't tear myself away from that unprofessional pit.
Saw Auric's band again this weekend, as they came to town for the second time this month. They played to a packed venue and played a rollicking show. I went with Friar, Maddening Angel, T-Bone, and his wife. They played a fantastic and very long set, but I was somewhat indifferent. For one reason and another, I didn't have any alcohol all night. Without its palliative influence, I couldn't stop wallowing in general pessimism.
The night ended, as so many do, at the Hangout. Friar, by this time really quite extraordinarily drunk, discovered that he could punch strangers in the arm and then stick his hand out and say "How are ya?" and they would invariably smile and shake and maybe pretend like they knew him. After several successful attempts, he started really laying on the punches, and I saw more than one frat boy reel from how hard he socked them in the shoulder. I thought for sure he'd be accosted by an iracund inebriated college kid at least once. But every single one took his hand and pretended to be his pal. Society has deeply ingrained its mores and regulations into us; a guy holds out a hand, and the other guy simply must take it. A guy punches some other guy, and the other guy has to act tough and not whine that it was too hard. Them's the rules.
I'm seeing a lot more movies now that I'm getting paid to sit around. I also have started watching the TV series "Lost." I know it's on the fourth season or thereabouts; I just started with the pilot and have so far seen four episodes. I'm behind the times television-wise, okay? Anyway, it's too soon to tell if it really is as good as everyone says, but it's certainly intriguing if nothing else. I didn't expect there would be giant invisible monsters. The writing is solid; it seems so far to be a show with a definite story to tell. But the writing also strikes me, as someone who reveres the gritty cable shows like "The Wire" and "Deadwood" and "The Shield" (and to a lesser extent, "Rescue Me"), that it's been dumbed down a tad for network TV. For example, the character Colonel Locke seems to have miraculously regained the use of his legs; this is made clear through a series of subtle hints, but then the show stops being clever and shows him in flashback seated in a wheelchair, as if this is some surprising reveal. I lost some respect for the script after that.
Anyway.... not much in the mood for blogging. Stay classy, Internet.
Tomorrow I'm going back to Old Job to fill in for the day, and maybe a few more days this week. I just can't tear myself away from that unprofessional pit.
Saw Auric's band again this weekend, as they came to town for the second time this month. They played to a packed venue and played a rollicking show. I went with Friar, Maddening Angel, T-Bone, and his wife. They played a fantastic and very long set, but I was somewhat indifferent. For one reason and another, I didn't have any alcohol all night. Without its palliative influence, I couldn't stop wallowing in general pessimism.
The night ended, as so many do, at the Hangout. Friar, by this time really quite extraordinarily drunk, discovered that he could punch strangers in the arm and then stick his hand out and say "How are ya?" and they would invariably smile and shake and maybe pretend like they knew him. After several successful attempts, he started really laying on the punches, and I saw more than one frat boy reel from how hard he socked them in the shoulder. I thought for sure he'd be accosted by an iracund inebriated college kid at least once. But every single one took his hand and pretended to be his pal. Society has deeply ingrained its mores and regulations into us; a guy holds out a hand, and the other guy simply must take it. A guy punches some other guy, and the other guy has to act tough and not whine that it was too hard. Them's the rules.
I'm seeing a lot more movies now that I'm getting paid to sit around. I also have started watching the TV series "Lost." I know it's on the fourth season or thereabouts; I just started with the pilot and have so far seen four episodes. I'm behind the times television-wise, okay? Anyway, it's too soon to tell if it really is as good as everyone says, but it's certainly intriguing if nothing else. I didn't expect there would be giant invisible monsters. The writing is solid; it seems so far to be a show with a definite story to tell. But the writing also strikes me, as someone who reveres the gritty cable shows like "The Wire" and "Deadwood" and "The Shield" (and to a lesser extent, "Rescue Me"), that it's been dumbed down a tad for network TV. For example, the character Colonel Locke seems to have miraculously regained the use of his legs; this is made clear through a series of subtle hints, but then the show stops being clever and shows him in flashback seated in a wheelchair, as if this is some surprising reveal. I lost some respect for the script after that.
Anyway.... not much in the mood for blogging. Stay classy, Internet.
Sunday, May 25, 2008
We got no class, we got no principles
Friday was the last day of school for the kids. We have only two more days of staff meetings and admin stuff next week. After that, no work until August, except for two weeks of camp. That's an extra thou right there. I'm going to drop by Old Job and get paid for a couple of days, too.
All told, I've got quite a bit of money these days (nice job, no kids, no alimony, no expensive habits, good credit), which is good, since it looks like I may have support my chump-ass father for a while. He's spent literally thousands of dollars on some prescription narcotic that he's convinced himself he needs, and now he's totally broke. Idiot.
***
Oh yeah, the 'Jeopardy!' audition. It went as well as could be expected. I think the personality interview went fairly well. There were people there much more interesting than I (a Secret Service agent who's guarded the President) and people less interesting (a social services attorney who gushed about how interesting it was how many people try to fraud the government out of checks). I'm a fairly pleasant guy when I want to be, and I think I may have stuck in my intterregators' minds a bit. I was the only male not wearing a dark color (I wore an orange silk shirt), and one of the few not in a coat and tie.
There was a fifty-question written test. I can't say anything about the questions, but I know for a fact I missed at least seven (including a couple I kicked myself over afterwards), which is still a respectable if not eye-popping score. Finally, we played a mock game, complete with buzzers that lit up pads and questions on a big computer screen. That part was the most fun.
So, yeah, I may get called in the next year to be on the show, or I may not.
After I told a neighbor about the experience, she congratulated me and then said, "I don't know much about that kind of stuff, though. Don't call me if you need a lifeline!"
Duly noted.
***
On the last day of school, a kindergartener came up to me and said, "Mr. Chance, Sally lifted her dress and showed her penis to Billy."
That's the kind of thing you have to take with a straight face.
***
This weekend, Flax, my law prof friend who teaches somewhere in California, was in town with his wife. Flax and Friar and I we all went out and heard an up-and-coming young singer at a divey bar where the rattling air conditioner served as off-kilter percussion accompaniment to her acoustic guitar and cello. After that, we went to the Hangout, and Maddening Angel dropped by too, as did Gunner's brother. I had just finished reading the excellent treatise Blink, by Malcolm Gladwell, and Gunner's brother told me a story about meeting Gladwell and driving him home from a party. Man, everyone I know is more interesting than I am.
Earlier in the week, I learned that my friend T-Bone was diagnosed with thyroid cancer and had his thyroid removed. He seems completely fine, which is great. We all went over to his house and played Apples to Apples, which is a very fun game, but I always do poorly at it. It requires an ability to accurately gauge how others think, and I've never been very good at that. What most people rhapsodize over as bizarre or prosaic, I find mundane, and what most people think is just delightful (like Las Vegas) I find repulsive.
***
Hey H.P. Lovecraft, why the long face?
All told, I've got quite a bit of money these days (nice job, no kids, no alimony, no expensive habits, good credit), which is good, since it looks like I may have support my chump-ass father for a while. He's spent literally thousands of dollars on some prescription narcotic that he's convinced himself he needs, and now he's totally broke. Idiot.
***
Oh yeah, the 'Jeopardy!' audition. It went as well as could be expected. I think the personality interview went fairly well. There were people there much more interesting than I (a Secret Service agent who's guarded the President) and people less interesting (a social services attorney who gushed about how interesting it was how many people try to fraud the government out of checks). I'm a fairly pleasant guy when I want to be, and I think I may have stuck in my intterregators' minds a bit. I was the only male not wearing a dark color (I wore an orange silk shirt), and one of the few not in a coat and tie.
There was a fifty-question written test. I can't say anything about the questions, but I know for a fact I missed at least seven (including a couple I kicked myself over afterwards), which is still a respectable if not eye-popping score. Finally, we played a mock game, complete with buzzers that lit up pads and questions on a big computer screen. That part was the most fun.
So, yeah, I may get called in the next year to be on the show, or I may not.
After I told a neighbor about the experience, she congratulated me and then said, "I don't know much about that kind of stuff, though. Don't call me if you need a lifeline!"
Duly noted.
***
On the last day of school, a kindergartener came up to me and said, "Mr. Chance, Sally lifted her dress and showed her penis to Billy."
That's the kind of thing you have to take with a straight face.
***
This weekend, Flax, my law prof friend who teaches somewhere in California, was in town with his wife. Flax and Friar and I we all went out and heard an up-and-coming young singer at a divey bar where the rattling air conditioner served as off-kilter percussion accompaniment to her acoustic guitar and cello. After that, we went to the Hangout, and Maddening Angel dropped by too, as did Gunner's brother. I had just finished reading the excellent treatise Blink, by Malcolm Gladwell, and Gunner's brother told me a story about meeting Gladwell and driving him home from a party. Man, everyone I know is more interesting than I am.
Earlier in the week, I learned that my friend T-Bone was diagnosed with thyroid cancer and had his thyroid removed. He seems completely fine, which is great. We all went over to his house and played Apples to Apples, which is a very fun game, but I always do poorly at it. It requires an ability to accurately gauge how others think, and I've never been very good at that. What most people rhapsodize over as bizarre or prosaic, I find mundane, and what most people think is just delightful (like Las Vegas) I find repulsive.
***
Hey H.P. Lovecraft, why the long face?
Sunday, May 18, 2008
Takin' what we want like robber barons, droppin' other Gs like they was the ends of gerunds
Here's another one of my "the kids at Prestigious sure are rich" anecdotes. A family employs three full-time nannies --- one for each kid --- and bought the house adjacent theirs so the nannies could live there. Holy cow.
In fourth grade this week, I was asking the kids what talents they had. One boy said he could sing Elvis opera. Intrigued, I asked him to do so. After a bit of half-hearted demurring, he trilled in a very operatic falsetto, "You ain't nothing but a hound dooooog..... Cryiiiiiing.... All the tiiiiiiime...." It was beautiful. I mean, it was musically ludicrous, but the idea was beautiful.
The other day I ordered some food from my regular Chinese place (called, risibly enough, Wang's). I asked the girl, "How many dumplings to an order?" She said, "Six." I said, "Well, I'll have 18, then." There was a pause, and then she asked, hesitantly, "So that's... uh, how many orders?" I had to tell her it was three. (This did not shatter any racist stereotypes about Asians being good with numbers, because the girl taking my order was Hispanic.)
Auric's band came to town again, to the typical critical fanfare. I went with the Friar, but while he went up front to listen to the music, I stayed backstage the entire time (I love Auric's music, but I'm well acquainted with it by now) talking to a friendly girl who turned out to be the sister of this girl, and the ex-girlfriend of my musician friend who got killed. It wasn't flirtatious or "there's a spark between us" talk, it was more Amateur Therapist Hour on my part. She's got legitimate problems, and I tried to tell her that she wasn't a bad person for feeling overwhelmed about them. Like I'm one to talk, right? Physician, heal thyself.
Speaking of worrying, I'm feeling less than confident about the upcoming Jeopardy! audition. I test myself with various quizzes, and I don't seem to know anything. Or I'm far too slow in dredging up the requisite piece of information. Quiz shows are a young person's game.
Oh, and I'm worrying about my place at Prestigious, too, but that should go without saying. There's just so much secrecy around there (Friday, it was announced that a teacher would be an administrator next year, which no one saw coming). How do I know they're not planning for someone else to take my spot and they'll spring the bad news on me the last day of school? Also, remember the "stupid" incident detailed at (1) here? It's spread to the whole school. A first grader who as far as I know enjoys me being in the room asked me shyly if it was true, and said the third graders "were telling everyone you called them the S-word." Great!
Finally, surely in this crazy world of sectarian violence and partisan infighting, surely we can all agree that "The Flapping Dickies" would be an excellent band name.
In fourth grade this week, I was asking the kids what talents they had. One boy said he could sing Elvis opera. Intrigued, I asked him to do so. After a bit of half-hearted demurring, he trilled in a very operatic falsetto, "You ain't nothing but a hound dooooog..... Cryiiiiiing.... All the tiiiiiiime...." It was beautiful. I mean, it was musically ludicrous, but the idea was beautiful.
The other day I ordered some food from my regular Chinese place (called, risibly enough, Wang's). I asked the girl, "How many dumplings to an order?" She said, "Six." I said, "Well, I'll have 18, then." There was a pause, and then she asked, hesitantly, "So that's... uh, how many orders?" I had to tell her it was three. (This did not shatter any racist stereotypes about Asians being good with numbers, because the girl taking my order was Hispanic.)
Auric's band came to town again, to the typical critical fanfare. I went with the Friar, but while he went up front to listen to the music, I stayed backstage the entire time (I love Auric's music, but I'm well acquainted with it by now) talking to a friendly girl who turned out to be the sister of this girl, and the ex-girlfriend of my musician friend who got killed. It wasn't flirtatious or "there's a spark between us" talk, it was more Amateur Therapist Hour on my part. She's got legitimate problems, and I tried to tell her that she wasn't a bad person for feeling overwhelmed about them. Like I'm one to talk, right? Physician, heal thyself.
Speaking of worrying, I'm feeling less than confident about the upcoming Jeopardy! audition. I test myself with various quizzes, and I don't seem to know anything. Or I'm far too slow in dredging up the requisite piece of information. Quiz shows are a young person's game.
Oh, and I'm worrying about my place at Prestigious, too, but that should go without saying. There's just so much secrecy around there (Friday, it was announced that a teacher would be an administrator next year, which no one saw coming). How do I know they're not planning for someone else to take my spot and they'll spring the bad news on me the last day of school? Also, remember the "stupid" incident detailed at (1) here? It's spread to the whole school. A first grader who as far as I know enjoys me being in the room asked me shyly if it was true, and said the third graders "were telling everyone you called them the S-word." Great!
Finally, surely in this crazy world of sectarian violence and partisan infighting, surely we can all agree that "The Flapping Dickies" would be an excellent band name.
Sunday, May 11, 2008
Teaching is my bag
- A teaching candidate came in for an interview this week. She was just out of school. I saw her resume. Across the top of it was a big bold line which read, "Pursing a career in teaching, first through eigth grade." Yes, pursing. Yes, eigth. And she got an interview! Standards are slipping. I was in the room during her mock lesson. It was, surprisingly, acceptable. Not great by any means.
- The kindergarteners saw a video about the lives of some Mexican children. The film's kids weren't suffering in abject poverty --- they had a small house and a few clothes and a mother who cooked meals of cheap hearty staples --- but they didn't have very much, either. The whole family worked hard, even the kids, who also walked more than a mile each way to school every day. The film talked about how it was hot and the area didn't have much water. After the video, one of our kindergarteners said, "If they're hot, they could swim in their pools."
- I was looking through the Rolodex of parents at Prestigius. They had slots for "Address" and "Father home cell" and "Mother work phone" and "Father e-mail" and so on. And --- this shows what tax bracket Prestigius' families are in --- there was a standard "Nanny contact info" slot as well. And I'd say about 85% of the entries had that slot filled.
- I've sat through a couple of interviews for the assistants we'll have next year. One was great, the other a bit too exuberant and inexperienced. I told the VH that I didn't want the second one, so she didn't get hired. I feel bad, because people need jobs, and I'm really not comfortable with power of any kind, especially in the professional world. But better to let someone keep looking and find their fit than try to make it work only to be forced out once they've begun. Hell, I still worry that could happen to me.
- I watched a very interesting meeting of grade teachers as they decided how to split the grade up into new classes for next year. They'd labeled each student with customized notes, like "needy," or "cannot work well with John" or "has over-protective parents." Then they spent about 45 minutes mixing and sorting the kids to try to find a balance of high-maintenance kids, independent kids, high-achieving kids, kids that need extra help, kids with supportive parents, kids with meddlesome parents, and so on. Fascinating. That's something you don't suspect is going on when you're a kid.
Sunday, May 04, 2008
Now on Sundays
Doing the blog thing again both appeals and appalls. I'm the guy who sucks, plus I got the depression; so I'm not exactly rarin' to chronicle my endless wasted days. Yet if I don't purge once in a while in lexical catharsis, the gerbils in my head may stop running on their wheel and start gnawing on my brain. So maybe I'm going to post weekly. We'll see how that works out.
Again, not in the mood for expansive commentary, but here's a rundown.
(1) Am tense as hell about work. I've landed in the soup twice in the last two weeks. Most recent offense: apparently I talk to the young children in too sharp a tone. The week before, some third graders accused me of calling them "stupid." This didn't happen, of course, but I had to apologize to them anyway for losing my cool with them, which I did. I got worried about it, but it turned out to be a non-event. This sharp and supposedly sarcastic tone of mine coming so quickly at the heels of it, however, has depreciated my stock at Prestigius considerably. Hopefully I can repair the damage and get back to being the golden boy.
(2) Unless I get fired, I'll be doing summer camp for a few weeks after school. That might be fun.
(3) I'm going to 'Jeopardy!' auditions later this month. I passed the online test, which I took a few months back. I'll get to play a mock game and have a personality assessment!
(4) Health situation is neither ameliorated or deteriorated.
(5) I joined Facebook. Boy, that Scrabulous sure is fun. Also the other word games.
(5) Here's a meme Samurai Frog passed on.
1. Ten years ago I was: I'm terrible with dates. Checking the archives... Ah, my graduate transcript from my teaching portfolio informs me that in May 1998 I was in Oregon, finishing my master's thesis on colonialism in Asia. (I find was asked this question three years ago.)
2. Five things on today's to do list: 1. Get gas for the car (done, to the tune of $35). 2. Buy groceries for the next week or two (done, to the tune of $110). 3. Take the car in for repairs and new tires (put off until another day). 4. Play some internet trivia games and record the answers to the ones I don't know in my research book as practice for Jeopardy! (done, but will do again). 5. Worry like Peter Lorre in 'M' about work tomorrow (continuous).
3. Things I'd do if I were a billionaire: 1. Hire specialists in many fields to teach me things, like languages and how to fix a car and so on. 2. Go around the world on a ship (with a crew, I mean, not like crazed missing adventurer Steve Fossett). 3. Donate lots of money to charities: preventing animal cruelty (but not those nuts at PETA), cancer cures, saving rain forests, community-based education programs for poor kids, etc. 4. Eat like a king, baby! Japense sushi chefs, the finest filet mignon, Kobe beef, exotic fruits! 5. Swim in a money bin. No, not really. I would pay David Milch to finish 'Deadwood' the way it should have been.
4. Three bad habits: Biting my nails, worrying, being acerbic.
5. Five places I've lived: Texas (two cities), Oregon (two cities), New York (three cities at least), California (Los Angeles), Maryland (Baltimore).
6. Six jobs I've had in my life: Frozen yogurt store guy, after-school daycare assistant, alternative weekly editor, Alzheimer's ward aide, private school teacher.
Again, not in the mood for expansive commentary, but here's a rundown.
(1) Am tense as hell about work. I've landed in the soup twice in the last two weeks. Most recent offense: apparently I talk to the young children in too sharp a tone. The week before, some third graders accused me of calling them "stupid." This didn't happen, of course, but I had to apologize to them anyway for losing my cool with them, which I did. I got worried about it, but it turned out to be a non-event. This sharp and supposedly sarcastic tone of mine coming so quickly at the heels of it, however, has depreciated my stock at Prestigius considerably. Hopefully I can repair the damage and get back to being the golden boy.
(2) Unless I get fired, I'll be doing summer camp for a few weeks after school. That might be fun.
(3) I'm going to 'Jeopardy!' auditions later this month. I passed the online test, which I took a few months back. I'll get to play a mock game and have a personality assessment!
(4) Health situation is neither ameliorated or deteriorated.
(5) I joined Facebook. Boy, that Scrabulous sure is fun. Also the other word games.
(5) Here's a meme Samurai Frog passed on.
1. Ten years ago I was: I'm terrible with dates. Checking the archives... Ah, my graduate transcript from my teaching portfolio informs me that in May 1998 I was in Oregon, finishing my master's thesis on colonialism in Asia. (I find was asked this question three years ago.)
2. Five things on today's to do list: 1. Get gas for the car (done, to the tune of $35). 2. Buy groceries for the next week or two (done, to the tune of $110). 3. Take the car in for repairs and new tires (put off until another day). 4. Play some internet trivia games and record the answers to the ones I don't know in my research book as practice for Jeopardy! (done, but will do again). 5. Worry like Peter Lorre in 'M' about work tomorrow (continuous).
3. Things I'd do if I were a billionaire: 1. Hire specialists in many fields to teach me things, like languages and how to fix a car and so on. 2. Go around the world on a ship (with a crew, I mean, not like crazed missing adventurer Steve Fossett). 3. Donate lots of money to charities: preventing animal cruelty (but not those nuts at PETA), cancer cures, saving rain forests, community-based education programs for poor kids, etc. 4. Eat like a king, baby! Japense sushi chefs, the finest filet mignon, Kobe beef, exotic fruits! 5. Swim in a money bin. No, not really. I would pay David Milch to finish 'Deadwood' the way it should have been.
4. Three bad habits: Biting my nails, worrying, being acerbic.
5. Five places I've lived: Texas (two cities), Oregon (two cities), New York (three cities at least), California (Los Angeles), Maryland (Baltimore).
6. Six jobs I've had in my life: Frozen yogurt store guy, after-school daycare assistant, alternative weekly editor, Alzheimer's ward aide, private school teacher.
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