I have been a big fan of the band Rush for many years now. I am especially fond of their early music (like 2112), but I have a soft spot for what they did in the first half of the 1990s as well. The first concert I ever went to was a Who concert in 1989 when I was 12 years old. The second was a Rush concert the next year. I've now been to four Rush tours, the most recent a couple of years ago just before we went to Spain.
Well, they are putting out a new album in May, called Snakes & Arrows. They have a very brief clip from the single they're going to release in March on their website, and I think it bodes very well. The best news is that they're going to tour again this summer, and Plainbellied has said she'll go with me. To give an idea of what this means: she never liked Rush until I played her some more stuff last year. They are still not her favorite, but she will tolerate them, and it will be the first time she's ever been to a big rock show. She saw James Taylor once, but that's not the same. I used to go to concerts all the time (the Who, Rush, Lollapalooza, Deep Purple, Bob Dylan), but I haven't done much the past few years. Well, this summer we'll go see a good show (Rush is great live), and we'll have a good time. How cool is that?
Trouble in paradise
I had an experience the other day that I hope will have the effect of preparing me for the inevitable day when Her Nibs becomes a teenager. When she took her bath, it was already past her bedtime, so she needed to finish quickly and get to bed. Well, she doesn't enjoy the part where I have to dump water over her head to get the soap and shampoo off. She took it especially hard this time, and when I asked her to get out of the tub, she freaked out. In a voice I will not soon forget, she said, "I'm not your daughter. I'm mummy's daughter. You don't love me." You can imagine how terrifying it was for me to hear that. I know she's just a little girl and doesn't really understand, but it cut like a knife. After a frank discussion, in which I explained that she IS my daughter and that I love her, she decided that it was all right, and that she loved me, too. Of course, she fell down just before going to bed, so she hated me again, and we had the same conversation again (with the same conclusion).
This is the lesson I've taken from it: I have a healthy relationship with Her Nibs. We can talk about things, and problems can be resolved peacefully (usually). I think it bodes well for the future. However, it also made me realize something: I'm terrified that someday she's going to say she doesn't love me and mean it. I think I'm going to have nightmares about that.
This is the lesson I've taken from it: I have a healthy relationship with Her Nibs. We can talk about things, and problems can be resolved peacefully (usually). I think it bodes well for the future. However, it also made me realize something: I'm terrified that someday she's going to say she doesn't love me and mean it. I think I'm going to have nightmares about that.
I watched this for two hours for that???!!!!
Last week was a bit weird for us, movie-wise. We watched a total of four movies: Cache, Deep Blue Sea, The Chronicles of Riddick, and Incident at Blood Pass. We watched Cache and Incident at Blood Pass on purpose, and the other two were simply on TV when we needed a break. Frankly, none of themwas what I would call a great movie. Deep Blue Sea and The Chronicles of Riddick stunk for some pretty obvious reasons (plot, characters, super-intelligent sharks jumping out of the water to kill people, strange alien religions). But I had high hopes for Cache and Incident at Blood Pass.
I was intrigued by Cache because it relates to the decolonization of Algeria, an issue I deal with in most of my courses. But there are a few things that bothered me about the film. First of all, it doesn't really talk about Algeria. There is a somewhat oblique reference to that conflict, but the film is really about guilt. That's all fine and dandy, but it deals with the guilt of a person who, even if he did what they say he did, did it as a six-year-old boy. That should not have caused the reaction that is apparent in the film. Another problem with the film is more basic: it's boring. There are about two scenes of the movie in which something actually happens (and those are rather disturbing). The rest is a hodgepodge of inane conversation and clips of videos of nothing. The ending, which was left deliberately vague, demonstrates that the filmmaker had completely lost touch with reality. Our collective reaction was, "What the hell just happened?" We watched an interview in which the filmmaker "explained" the movie, but it cleared up nothing. Overall, it was an incredibly frustrating experience. I should have read more user reviews on Netflix.
Today we watched Incident at Blood Pass with Toshiro Mifune. It is part of the Yojimbo series, and the basic plot is that a ronin (independent samurai) is sent to a remote area to await further instructions. He slowly becomes aware of a plot and his part in it, and eventually he acts. I really love Mifune. Some of his other films are amazing. The acting in this film is excellent as well. Unlike Cache, one comes away knowing what happened. But one is struck by a lack of motive. It is never clear why the Crow organizes all of this, and one wonders why Yojimbo makes his final decision. At the end, that makes it feel as though the film lacks a real resolution. I'm OK with ambiguity, but there should be a sense of closure or finality or something so that the viewer doesn't feel empty at the end of the film.
Watching "challenging" films is very tiring. Right now I'm kind of in need of escapist film, but it has to be good (not like Deep Blue Sea or Riddick). I'm hoping that Man on the Moon fits the bill. That one's coming soon.
I was intrigued by Cache because it relates to the decolonization of Algeria, an issue I deal with in most of my courses. But there are a few things that bothered me about the film. First of all, it doesn't really talk about Algeria. There is a somewhat oblique reference to that conflict, but the film is really about guilt. That's all fine and dandy, but it deals with the guilt of a person who, even if he did what they say he did, did it as a six-year-old boy. That should not have caused the reaction that is apparent in the film. Another problem with the film is more basic: it's boring. There are about two scenes of the movie in which something actually happens (and those are rather disturbing). The rest is a hodgepodge of inane conversation and clips of videos of nothing. The ending, which was left deliberately vague, demonstrates that the filmmaker had completely lost touch with reality. Our collective reaction was, "What the hell just happened?" We watched an interview in which the filmmaker "explained" the movie, but it cleared up nothing. Overall, it was an incredibly frustrating experience. I should have read more user reviews on Netflix.
Today we watched Incident at Blood Pass with Toshiro Mifune. It is part of the Yojimbo series, and the basic plot is that a ronin (independent samurai) is sent to a remote area to await further instructions. He slowly becomes aware of a plot and his part in it, and eventually he acts. I really love Mifune. Some of his other films are amazing. The acting in this film is excellent as well. Unlike Cache, one comes away knowing what happened. But one is struck by a lack of motive. It is never clear why the Crow organizes all of this, and one wonders why Yojimbo makes his final decision. At the end, that makes it feel as though the film lacks a real resolution. I'm OK with ambiguity, but there should be a sense of closure or finality or something so that the viewer doesn't feel empty at the end of the film.
Watching "challenging" films is very tiring. Right now I'm kind of in need of escapist film, but it has to be good (not like Deep Blue Sea or Riddick). I'm hoping that Man on the Moon fits the bill. That one's coming soon.
No Child Left Behind?
I read this article on the CNN website tonight. It describes efforts in some parts of the country, especially in Massachusetts, to extend the school day. They are trying to make school an eight-hour experience, with some time on every other Saturday as well. I am an educator and a parent. I teach university students, which is a very different thing than teaching elementary-school-age children, but I have put a great deal of thought into this issue, so I'm going to expound my opinion on the state of America's schools. Because I probably have too much to say on the subject, I'm just going to focus on three things: longer school days, testing, and curriculum. I think these are at the heart of our country's education debate.
I personally don't see the purpose of extending the school day. My feeling is that the school day is long enough as it is, and adding more school will only end up making kids burn out faster. Making kids go to school for eight hours a day will allow for longer classes, but how many kids really have the ability to last that long? In addition, what will this do to extracurricular activities? If kids are in school until 4:00 in the afternoon (or later), when will they have sports practices? What about other groups? Will they be incorporated into the school day? Or will kids who do extracurriculars now arrive home after 7:00 every night? What impact will that have on American family life? These are some of my reflections on longer school days. I'm not necessarily against the idea, but I'd like for them to have some kind of explanation other than, "The kids will do better on tests."
This brings me to the second point. There are a number of problems with standardized testing as I see it. First, linking teacher pay to student performance is a bad idea. Several high-profile cheating cases bear out this argument, I think. Second, the tests cause teachers to focus on teaching to the test, rather than on finding out what their students need. Teaching must be more individualized, and teachers know their own classes better than anyone else. Third, who is evaluating the tests? Here in Florida they discovered a few years ago that unqualified people were doing the grading. Talk about a black eye. Fourth, the tests are given too early in the year, making the last several months of school kind of like the lame-duck period faced by all presidents at the end of their second terms. If they take the test in February or March, then they have to know all the material for the test before then. So what the hell is the rest of the year for? Now many schools are starting the school year in early August, which is destroying summer vacation, an important break for kids to have.
These tests also influence the curriculum choices of school-age kids. Because of the focus on writing and math, and the link between test scores and funding, schools have limited the curriculum in very detrimental ways. Now that reading and math are king, science, history, art, and music get the short end of the stick. Here the argument comes full circle. Proponents of longer school days say they want to bring new subjects into the curriculum by lengthening the day. I think that's a bogus claim. If there was always time for them before, what has changed? One thing that has changed is the current focus on preparing students for employment. Florida recently passed an education law that requires high school freshmen to declare a major and a minor when they get to the ninth grade. I think that's insane.
What it comes down to is one's philosophy of education. I am a partisan of a traditional liberal arts education. I believe that high school students should be required to take four years of
English, Math, Science, Foreign Language, History (or civics), and physical education (our children desperately need activity), plus one or two years of art, music, and other electives. younger students should be doing pretty much the same thing (begin with reading and counting and work their way up). I think this is a perfectly reasonable curriculum, and it would focus not necessarily on making better employees for a service economy, but on helping students become better people.
If you've made it this far, I commend you. Keep checking back for more fun stuff!
I personally don't see the purpose of extending the school day. My feeling is that the school day is long enough as it is, and adding more school will only end up making kids burn out faster. Making kids go to school for eight hours a day will allow for longer classes, but how many kids really have the ability to last that long? In addition, what will this do to extracurricular activities? If kids are in school until 4:00 in the afternoon (or later), when will they have sports practices? What about other groups? Will they be incorporated into the school day? Or will kids who do extracurriculars now arrive home after 7:00 every night? What impact will that have on American family life? These are some of my reflections on longer school days. I'm not necessarily against the idea, but I'd like for them to have some kind of explanation other than, "The kids will do better on tests."
This brings me to the second point. There are a number of problems with standardized testing as I see it. First, linking teacher pay to student performance is a bad idea. Several high-profile cheating cases bear out this argument, I think. Second, the tests cause teachers to focus on teaching to the test, rather than on finding out what their students need. Teaching must be more individualized, and teachers know their own classes better than anyone else. Third, who is evaluating the tests? Here in Florida they discovered a few years ago that unqualified people were doing the grading. Talk about a black eye. Fourth, the tests are given too early in the year, making the last several months of school kind of like the lame-duck period faced by all presidents at the end of their second terms. If they take the test in February or March, then they have to know all the material for the test before then. So what the hell is the rest of the year for? Now many schools are starting the school year in early August, which is destroying summer vacation, an important break for kids to have.
These tests also influence the curriculum choices of school-age kids. Because of the focus on writing and math, and the link between test scores and funding, schools have limited the curriculum in very detrimental ways. Now that reading and math are king, science, history, art, and music get the short end of the stick. Here the argument comes full circle. Proponents of longer school days say they want to bring new subjects into the curriculum by lengthening the day. I think that's a bogus claim. If there was always time for them before, what has changed? One thing that has changed is the current focus on preparing students for employment. Florida recently passed an education law that requires high school freshmen to declare a major and a minor when they get to the ninth grade. I think that's insane.
What it comes down to is one's philosophy of education. I am a partisan of a traditional liberal arts education. I believe that high school students should be required to take four years of
English, Math, Science, Foreign Language, History (or civics), and physical education (our children desperately need activity), plus one or two years of art, music, and other electives. younger students should be doing pretty much the same thing (begin with reading and counting and work their way up). I think this is a perfectly reasonable curriculum, and it would focus not necessarily on making better employees for a service economy, but on helping students become better people.
If you've made it this far, I commend you. Keep checking back for more fun stuff!
I know it's been about a week, but. . .
I haven't been blogging much lately because I'm pretty consumed with trying to finish a draft of my dissertation. It needs to go to the editorial office for review in a week, and I've still got to finish one chapter, revise the introduction, and add some sort of conclusion. My coverage is going to be spotty for a little while.
Having said that, Her Nibs did some very funny things this morning. I'm back on a daytime schedule, so when she comes into our room in the morning, I'm there to play a little bit. This morning, while Plainbellied got ready, Her Nibs and I played on the bed. Not long ago the big game was "Got Your Face." Well, this morning, she decided that I was her pet. I was sitting on the edge of the bed, and she said, "Are you ready to fall over, my big pet?" Then she pushed me down and told me, "Now you say, 'woof woof.'" Apparently I was her dog. I thought it was funny.
Then I taught her how to have a pillow-fight, and we all hit each other with pillows for a few minutes. It was a pretty fun morning.
Having said that, Her Nibs did some very funny things this morning. I'm back on a daytime schedule, so when she comes into our room in the morning, I'm there to play a little bit. This morning, while Plainbellied got ready, Her Nibs and I played on the bed. Not long ago the big game was "Got Your Face." Well, this morning, she decided that I was her pet. I was sitting on the edge of the bed, and she said, "Are you ready to fall over, my big pet?" Then she pushed me down and told me, "Now you say, 'woof woof.'" Apparently I was her dog. I thought it was funny.
Then I taught her how to have a pillow-fight, and we all hit each other with pillows for a few minutes. It was a pretty fun morning.
The Placeholder Retraction
You know what? Just ignore the manifesto. We're not really political. :)
The Committee
The Committee
The Placeholder Manifesto
It's finally here! The post you've all been waiting for: the Placeholder Manifesto, in which our various goals are presented in stunning prose! Be warned, however, that I have spent much of the last seven years engrossed in the study of obscure political groups in the early 20th Century. Enjoy!
The Manifesto
As we bow before the gods of Technology and Science, we find ourselves compelled to launch this forum for our ideas and thus advance our goals for the improvement of Society. Through the formation of a small nucleus of educated souls, we believe that the Placeholder movement will continue to march forward in anticipation of a glorious triumph over sloth and deception. We have chosen the Blogosphere as the perfect environment for our movement, hopeful of one day declaring from the heights of power that the movement against inanity began here.
Born into a world where the twin evils of complacency and misinformation abound, we declare war on the purveyors of stupidity. The Placeholder movement solemnly objects to the creation of inferior products in all economic and social sectors. The imposition by large corporations on our culture has degraded the creative spark once dominant, limiting true ingenuity and innovation to limited sectors.
We vow that through our posts, we will carefully expose the frauds prevalent in our society. Bloggers of the world, unite against the fascist rule imposed by the outdated imperialist dogma of modern capitalism! Join our struggle against stupidity and laziness!
The Placeholder Committee
The Manifesto
As we bow before the gods of Technology and Science, we find ourselves compelled to launch this forum for our ideas and thus advance our goals for the improvement of Society. Through the formation of a small nucleus of educated souls, we believe that the Placeholder movement will continue to march forward in anticipation of a glorious triumph over sloth and deception. We have chosen the Blogosphere as the perfect environment for our movement, hopeful of one day declaring from the heights of power that the movement against inanity began here.
Born into a world where the twin evils of complacency and misinformation abound, we declare war on the purveyors of stupidity. The Placeholder movement solemnly objects to the creation of inferior products in all economic and social sectors. The imposition by large corporations on our culture has degraded the creative spark once dominant, limiting true ingenuity and innovation to limited sectors.
We vow that through our posts, we will carefully expose the frauds prevalent in our society. Bloggers of the world, unite against the fascist rule imposed by the outdated imperialist dogma of modern capitalism! Join our struggle against stupidity and laziness!
The Placeholder Committee
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