Andrea at Atypical Homeschool wants to know what books folks think all kids should read. I could come up with a list that would never stop growing, but I can easily hold back and make it quick and easy. I can think of a concise list can't I?
I feel I should begin by pointing out that I don't believe in this list. I don't believe in subjective restraints on what children should or should not read. I believe firmly in censorship within the family itself based on the content of individual books and the maturity (for lack of a better word) of the child or children. When I think in terms of appropriateness, I consider sexual content, types of violence and adult themes, drug use for example. These are all subjects that children should be taught about with complete honesty, but I want to reserve the right to time those discussions for when they are most appropriate for my children.
As almost the only author I will list by name, I think all kids should read the works of J.R.R. Tolkien. We are of course all aware of his four most popular works, The Hobbit as well as the The Lord of the Rings trilogy. These are perfect books to get lost in, to sink into as too many hours slip past unknown. What I've read of his other work, though not quite as lengthy, is also fun to read. These are the kind of books we read as kids then get excited to read to our own kids. These are the books that we cherish as old friends, books that we read and reread over the years, the books that cause me to lament that I can only read them for the first time once.
Kids should read historically accurate stories, both fiction and nonfiction. These books are fun because they give us a look at a time past. We could all use a little view of ourselves in relation to the never ending rush of time and history. Perhaps Laura Ingalls didn't change the world and doesn't show up in world history books, but she's changed the view of plenty of people over the years with her Little House series of books. Through those books we see how different life was not so long ago. Along with this, kids should read biographies and autobiographies. What better way to explore the lives of people that made history happen, though they little thought it at the time.
Kids should read crap, and I mean that in the best possible way. The Animorphs series of books are not likely to win any Nobel or Newberry awards, and they aren't the deepest most well thought out paragons of writerly ability. They are fun to read though, and they can pull you right into their fantastic stories of DNA acquiring kids who change into animals to fight the evil alien invasion. This is the kind of book that's perfect for when you want a quick read that will let you let go for a couple of hours or days.
If any point just sticks with me it's simply that kids should read. Parents should know what their kids are reading to be able to weed out books that are not appropriate for their kids, but beyond that, why stand in the way of a kid who wants to read? I fear that many parents limit their children's reading by making up standards of quality, the people who will tell you that their kids never read twaddle, that their kids only read classics. I say there's room for all books and that no one should be made to feel bad because of their choice of what to read. It's that old unschooling philosophy to me, giving kids the richest library we can, making them aware that it exists for them and that they are welcome to what they want.
Wednesday, September 13, 2006
Tuesday, September 12, 2006
mmmm yogurt
There's nothing quite as tasty as a Brown Cow cream on top yogurt, my favorite being the cherry vanilla flavor. I'm currently possibly having a raspberry as that was the last flavor we had, and I'm possibly having it as opposed to definitely having it because of the following reason. There's also nothing quite like wondering whether or not you should keep eating that yogurt because it might just taste a little funny. But it could taste a little funny because I just brushed my teeth prior to eating this yogurt. So I take another bite and keep wondering. I'm sure if it's the toothpaste that pretty soon the yogurt should start to taste normal again. But then I notice that the cream, which is no longer on top, isn't quite blending as it usually does. Instead of this, it's remaining rather lumpy, which it never does. That can't be a good sign, though it makes it easier to taste to see if perhaps I should stop eating. But then the lump seems to taste like maybe it's the toothpaste which really should have stopped being a factor, at least by now, it seems. But all in all, as I take spoons full to taste, it almost seems like maybe it's starting to taste right. Mostly, the flavor is bitter with none of the usual sweetness from the raspberries. It is yogurt, so it's going to taste a little sour, but this flavor, and it still could be the toothpaste, is just, well, dodgy I suppose. It's not that it tastes bad but that it might taste bad. And while I am a little hungry and hate to waste food, I'm just not sure I'm happy with this, which sucks because I'm not sure it's really not the toothpaste.
Monday, September 11, 2006
the book thing
I've seen this floating around for a bit, then Audrey didn't not tag me, and I've wondered whether or not I was going to ignore it. I tend sometimes to kind of forget books to some extent because I tend to speed through them fairly quickly. I do often reread books that stick in my mind though, so I end up getting it in the end it seems.
So on with the questions. It's all about books.
A book that changed my life:
Probably the best book in this category would be The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Yes it's funny and not to be taken at all seriously. It was one of the first books that I read that wasn't a western or a Hardy Boys book. I read it around the time I would have started driving meaning that I could get to library at my will and find more and more books that wouldn't usually have gotten through the parental filters. This book gave me an idea of scale in which we as humans weren't the center of the universe. The possibility that there could be so much more than I had ever imagine really opened my eyes to how small my own world was up to that point.
A book I would take on a desert island:
This one is a hard one because it's hard for me to just answer. I have too many questions, from how am I getting stuck on this island to would I know where this island is. I'd want to think of some book that would aid me in surviving on that island, but what book exists to tell you how to live on a dessert island? If I had to take a nonfiction book, I might pick a Mark Helprin. His work really transports me into the world of his characters. For this I might pick A Soldier in the Great War, though I've read it once, but I might find one I haven't read yet.
A book that made me laugh:
I have to revisit The Hitchhiker's Guide again. Having read certain books from the trilogy numerous times, and all of it mulitple times, I still laugh as I reread it every couple of years.
A book that made me cry:
It takes a good bit to get me to cry, the closest I get being a little chokey. I recently reread To Kill a Mockingbird. There are plenty of unhappy moments in this book, but Dill's reaction at the end of the trial kills me every time. His childlike inability to understand the evil that humans can do to each other is so sad. It also serves to illuminate in my own mind that I still don't understand the evil that we are all capable of.
A book that I wish had been written:
If only there had been some book back in the dark ages that highlighted to people that we are all the same, regardless of how we look or where we are from, we are all more alike than not. Too many of the horrors of human history seem to revolve all too often around perceived differences with no basis in reality.
A book that I wish had never been written:
I'm not sure what to think about this question. There are plenty of books that have led people to commit seriously vile actions, and too many of these books have been misused for these purposes. Their are likely books that have been used exactly as they were intended and have led people to do evil. I suppose if nothing else these books could give us an insight into evil.
A book I've been meaning to read:
Not really sure I have one. Generally, if I learn of a book that interests me I find a way to read it. I'm sure immediately after posting this, I'll think of the book that fits this question, but I really can't think of it.
I'm currently reading:
While at the library recently, I picked my usual armload of books from the kids section. We have several Chris Van Allsburg books as well as one written and illustrated by Tim Eagan, a writer suggested to us by a homeschooling friend. On the way to check out, I decided to grab a moment at the new releases, located about ten to twenty feet from the checkout desk. I immediately noticed a Neil Gaiman book. I'm not familiar with his work though I've long known of it. When I had comic book money I just never bothered with his stuff. I've known he's branched out from comics, and I've finally picked up one of his books, Anansi Boys. I've enjoyed it so far, but I'm only about three chapters in, so I haven't yet quite formed an opinion yet.
That's my list. I'm not personally comfortable with tagging others. I know it's done and is okay, but like wearing white shoes, I just can't get myself to do it. Don't ask why, 'cuz I don't know.
So on with the questions. It's all about books.
A book that changed my life:
Probably the best book in this category would be The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Yes it's funny and not to be taken at all seriously. It was one of the first books that I read that wasn't a western or a Hardy Boys book. I read it around the time I would have started driving meaning that I could get to library at my will and find more and more books that wouldn't usually have gotten through the parental filters. This book gave me an idea of scale in which we as humans weren't the center of the universe. The possibility that there could be so much more than I had ever imagine really opened my eyes to how small my own world was up to that point.
A book I would take on a desert island:
This one is a hard one because it's hard for me to just answer. I have too many questions, from how am I getting stuck on this island to would I know where this island is. I'd want to think of some book that would aid me in surviving on that island, but what book exists to tell you how to live on a dessert island? If I had to take a nonfiction book, I might pick a Mark Helprin. His work really transports me into the world of his characters. For this I might pick A Soldier in the Great War, though I've read it once, but I might find one I haven't read yet.
A book that made me laugh:
I have to revisit The Hitchhiker's Guide again. Having read certain books from the trilogy numerous times, and all of it mulitple times, I still laugh as I reread it every couple of years.
A book that made me cry:
It takes a good bit to get me to cry, the closest I get being a little chokey. I recently reread To Kill a Mockingbird. There are plenty of unhappy moments in this book, but Dill's reaction at the end of the trial kills me every time. His childlike inability to understand the evil that humans can do to each other is so sad. It also serves to illuminate in my own mind that I still don't understand the evil that we are all capable of.
A book that I wish had been written:
If only there had been some book back in the dark ages that highlighted to people that we are all the same, regardless of how we look or where we are from, we are all more alike than not. Too many of the horrors of human history seem to revolve all too often around perceived differences with no basis in reality.
A book that I wish had never been written:
I'm not sure what to think about this question. There are plenty of books that have led people to commit seriously vile actions, and too many of these books have been misused for these purposes. Their are likely books that have been used exactly as they were intended and have led people to do evil. I suppose if nothing else these books could give us an insight into evil.
A book I've been meaning to read:
Not really sure I have one. Generally, if I learn of a book that interests me I find a way to read it. I'm sure immediately after posting this, I'll think of the book that fits this question, but I really can't think of it.
I'm currently reading:
While at the library recently, I picked my usual armload of books from the kids section. We have several Chris Van Allsburg books as well as one written and illustrated by Tim Eagan, a writer suggested to us by a homeschooling friend. On the way to check out, I decided to grab a moment at the new releases, located about ten to twenty feet from the checkout desk. I immediately noticed a Neil Gaiman book. I'm not familiar with his work though I've long known of it. When I had comic book money I just never bothered with his stuff. I've known he's branched out from comics, and I've finally picked up one of his books, Anansi Boys. I've enjoyed it so far, but I'm only about three chapters in, so I haven't yet quite formed an opinion yet.
That's my list. I'm not personally comfortable with tagging others. I know it's done and is okay, but like wearing white shoes, I just can't get myself to do it. Don't ask why, 'cuz I don't know.
interesting reading on sleep and children
One of the Science Bloggers I find myself reading more often than many others has written some posts concerning sleep. This isn't a subject I'd ever really given a lot of thought, especially as he relates it to school performance as well as general safety issues. Read his blog posts that got me thinking here and here.
I won't even approach his scientific discussion beyond mentioning that humans go through phases in regards to their sleep, happening loosely around adolescence, teen (high school) years and then adulthood, around 30 years old, at which point we settle into our adult sleep patterns. From reading his posts, I would say I'm an owl in that I tend to fall asleep and wake up later. I'd always assumed this was due to jobs I'd chosen, but perhaps it's more that I chose jobs that corresponded with my basic circadian rhythm. Working in restaurants I've always felt that, in the end, it's the business that does the picking, but that's another post. In addition to owls there are also larks, people who tend to fall asleep and wake up earlier, and what he calls the median, self explanatory in meaning. I remember years of thinking that I didn't sleep because I would toss and turn in bed for hours before getting to sleep. I was also difficult to wake up in time for school.
I certainly believe that school starts too early. If I were creating a public school system, early mornings would certainly be out from the very beginning. I would say honestly that a part of our homeschooling decision was based on the timing in general of school, from the early mornings to the forced late nights. The early start certainly wasn't a huge factor in the decision, so perhaps it's more a huge residual benefit.
I won't even approach his scientific discussion beyond mentioning that humans go through phases in regards to their sleep, happening loosely around adolescence, teen (high school) years and then adulthood, around 30 years old, at which point we settle into our adult sleep patterns. From reading his posts, I would say I'm an owl in that I tend to fall asleep and wake up later. I'd always assumed this was due to jobs I'd chosen, but perhaps it's more that I chose jobs that corresponded with my basic circadian rhythm. Working in restaurants I've always felt that, in the end, it's the business that does the picking, but that's another post. In addition to owls there are also larks, people who tend to fall asleep and wake up earlier, and what he calls the median, self explanatory in meaning. I remember years of thinking that I didn't sleep because I would toss and turn in bed for hours before getting to sleep. I was also difficult to wake up in time for school.
I certainly believe that school starts too early. If I were creating a public school system, early mornings would certainly be out from the very beginning. I would say honestly that a part of our homeschooling decision was based on the timing in general of school, from the early mornings to the forced late nights. The early start certainly wasn't a huge factor in the decision, so perhaps it's more a huge residual benefit.
Sunday, September 10, 2006
dreading tomorrow: in which we revisit our friend the soccer season
This weekend saw the first games for both Big Brother and me of our separate '06 fall soccer seasons. His was Saturday, and he seems completely recovered from the game. Mine was today, and as happens during each Spring and Fall, I'm dreading Monday morning.
As for this crop of U8's, including of course my own, I like these kids. I always tend to like the kids on the teams, so this isn't a surprise. I've memorized their names pretty quickly. We know one of the kids already from having been on a U6 team together. And at least one other of the kids I remember past teams playing against.
Big Brother's game was fun and exciting. He seems to be getting more into the game, but he's also getting older, so I would expect him to either put more effort into it or start to decide that it isn't for him. He may also decide he likes to play during the season and mostly care less in the off season, which is where's he's been. I hadn't considered before now that I set that example. I tend to completely let it go when I'm not playing.
The opposing coach was a guy I've played a few seasons with. I'd love to play with him again in the future, though I think our team is a little player heavy at the moment for many more players. He asked at the beginning of the game not to beat his team by too much. He was of course joking. Both teams played well, but the one week of practice we missed really did seem to set us back as the other team just played together better from the beginning. My guys did get it together, but not till after the other kids took an early lead. We evened up the score and the game stayed pretty even till the very end.
The end was pretty funny if a bit tragic for my team. One of the opposing players discovered that he could kick the ball right over my defense and goalie and send shots right into our goal. My defensive player hasn't played before and was a little leery of getting in the other kid's face. After a couple of shots over his head and some encouragement, he finally started playing a little more aggressively, getting in the shooter's face and taking away his shot. But it was already late in the game, and we didn't have time to come back from that.
There's always next Saturday, and until then, I know some things to work on. At this age, getting the kids to be a little more aggressive is kind of tricky. I don't want to coach kids to be mean or dirty, but they need to learn that walking up to a kid and taking the ball away isn't going to hurt, but you can't do it from three feet away. Just as difficult is working on passing. We play AYSO and just don't get a lot of time with the kids. At this age, I don't see that as a problem, and I actually sort of dread the older ages and oftener practices. I also sort of don't. But I've got plenty of games and variations for practice. I'll have these kids passing, or maybe I'll just set them up to make better passes as they get older.
My game today turned out similarly in scoring ratio if not amount. We could easily have beaten this team given our talent. But a team has to practice together more than never to be able to work as a team during a game. That's all the space I'll give that rant/excuse. I have no idea how often our opponents practice, however little that effects my own team's performance.
One light in the day, assuming this game to be indicative of future games, was that no one got yelled at by the halftime coach, the guy that doesn't play as well as he demands of others, the guy who forces every possible reason we aren't winning to reflect back his own loudly proclaimed opinion. I'm not sure if he's moved to a different team or not, though I'm sure I look forward to disallowing him the joy of a goal.
Our opponents had some rude players, the guys that play as though there might be a scout hiding in the bushes. But we apparently now have our own as well. They had the typical fusser who wants to scream about fouls he's imagined. There was also the big guy that landed on me going for a header, which is where my pain began. I think this was the same guy slapping me in the head later, but I'm not certain.
Being landed on by a much taller and heavier player is never fun. I'm not sure exactly what's happened, but somewhere about where the thighbone is connected to the hip bone, a little flame of something wrong was brewing. Later in the game, in a freak slide tackle incident I fanned that flame to full worry inducing pain. I went off the field and rested for a couple of minutes. If I stretched the wrong direction, the pain radiated down the back of my thigh seeming more hamstring than joint related, though I'm certain it isn't the hamstring. I walked a bit before the pain subsided some, took a jog then a sprint and okayed myself to go back in. That wasn't likely the best decision, but I knew the game was nearing the end, and I wasn't done playing.
So sometime tomorrow, shortly after 8:00 most likely, I awake to the full flame of today's issue. I'm certain that whatever I've done isn't serious, but it hurts now, so it is something. Generally, the usual round of aches appear the next day, and as the season progresses, and as my body almost approaches an approximation of fitness, the Monday's aren't so horrific. But those Sundays that I actually do more damage than a kick in the knee or ball in the face, the Monday's will always be especially sad.
As for this crop of U8's, including of course my own, I like these kids. I always tend to like the kids on the teams, so this isn't a surprise. I've memorized their names pretty quickly. We know one of the kids already from having been on a U6 team together. And at least one other of the kids I remember past teams playing against.
Big Brother's game was fun and exciting. He seems to be getting more into the game, but he's also getting older, so I would expect him to either put more effort into it or start to decide that it isn't for him. He may also decide he likes to play during the season and mostly care less in the off season, which is where's he's been. I hadn't considered before now that I set that example. I tend to completely let it go when I'm not playing.
The opposing coach was a guy I've played a few seasons with. I'd love to play with him again in the future, though I think our team is a little player heavy at the moment for many more players. He asked at the beginning of the game not to beat his team by too much. He was of course joking. Both teams played well, but the one week of practice we missed really did seem to set us back as the other team just played together better from the beginning. My guys did get it together, but not till after the other kids took an early lead. We evened up the score and the game stayed pretty even till the very end.
The end was pretty funny if a bit tragic for my team. One of the opposing players discovered that he could kick the ball right over my defense and goalie and send shots right into our goal. My defensive player hasn't played before and was a little leery of getting in the other kid's face. After a couple of shots over his head and some encouragement, he finally started playing a little more aggressively, getting in the shooter's face and taking away his shot. But it was already late in the game, and we didn't have time to come back from that.
There's always next Saturday, and until then, I know some things to work on. At this age, getting the kids to be a little more aggressive is kind of tricky. I don't want to coach kids to be mean or dirty, but they need to learn that walking up to a kid and taking the ball away isn't going to hurt, but you can't do it from three feet away. Just as difficult is working on passing. We play AYSO and just don't get a lot of time with the kids. At this age, I don't see that as a problem, and I actually sort of dread the older ages and oftener practices. I also sort of don't. But I've got plenty of games and variations for practice. I'll have these kids passing, or maybe I'll just set them up to make better passes as they get older.
My game today turned out similarly in scoring ratio if not amount. We could easily have beaten this team given our talent. But a team has to practice together more than never to be able to work as a team during a game. That's all the space I'll give that rant/excuse. I have no idea how often our opponents practice, however little that effects my own team's performance.
One light in the day, assuming this game to be indicative of future games, was that no one got yelled at by the halftime coach, the guy that doesn't play as well as he demands of others, the guy who forces every possible reason we aren't winning to reflect back his own loudly proclaimed opinion. I'm not sure if he's moved to a different team or not, though I'm sure I look forward to disallowing him the joy of a goal.
Our opponents had some rude players, the guys that play as though there might be a scout hiding in the bushes. But we apparently now have our own as well. They had the typical fusser who wants to scream about fouls he's imagined. There was also the big guy that landed on me going for a header, which is where my pain began. I think this was the same guy slapping me in the head later, but I'm not certain.
Being landed on by a much taller and heavier player is never fun. I'm not sure exactly what's happened, but somewhere about where the thighbone is connected to the hip bone, a little flame of something wrong was brewing. Later in the game, in a freak slide tackle incident I fanned that flame to full worry inducing pain. I went off the field and rested for a couple of minutes. If I stretched the wrong direction, the pain radiated down the back of my thigh seeming more hamstring than joint related, though I'm certain it isn't the hamstring. I walked a bit before the pain subsided some, took a jog then a sprint and okayed myself to go back in. That wasn't likely the best decision, but I knew the game was nearing the end, and I wasn't done playing.
So sometime tomorrow, shortly after 8:00 most likely, I awake to the full flame of today's issue. I'm certain that whatever I've done isn't serious, but it hurts now, so it is something. Generally, the usual round of aches appear the next day, and as the season progresses, and as my body almost approaches an approximation of fitness, the Monday's aren't so horrific. But those Sundays that I actually do more damage than a kick in the knee or ball in the face, the Monday's will always be especially sad.
Friday, September 08, 2006
suddenly worried about that god dude
This song has me worried. All my sinning ways are going to catch up with me, and I wanted so to disbelieve that it could happen. Go straight to the song here, or the blog hosting the song here. Or check out the science blogger where I found it here.
Headphones may be a good idea if you feel you need them. If wirty dords bother you, listen anyway and get your irate on. I personally had to stop eating my banana to be sure it didn't exit via my nose holes.
Headphones may be a good idea if you feel you need them. If wirty dords bother you, listen anyway and get your irate on. I personally had to stop eating my banana to be sure it didn't exit via my nose holes.
Thursday, September 07, 2006
all right dadgummit
Blogger really needs to finish messing with itself. For some unfathomable reason, because I've moved to the beta version, I can no longer post comments at the blogs of people who have not switched. This makes absolutely no sense.
So here is my two part bitch.
Part one, to the dumbasses at Blogger, why the fuck can't I post comments to non beta bloggers? How stupid is this? I'd tell you how stupid it is, but I don't know that there's a scale to measure this kind of dumbassery. Fix it already you bunch of nincompoops.
Part two, to most of you people, come on already. Move up to the beta version. Take my word for it, it's kind of not uncool. Maybe some of you like the old one, but you might like the new one. I do, and I'm so cool that everyone should want to be like me, or not, either way.
There is some merit, sad though it may be, that it's my comments that people would like to avoid. If that's so, then perhaps no one will ever again switch to the beta. I'm sure that's not it, but I'm not so sure as to be certain. So where does that leave us?
So here is my two part bitch.
Part one, to the dumbasses at Blogger, why the fuck can't I post comments to non beta bloggers? How stupid is this? I'd tell you how stupid it is, but I don't know that there's a scale to measure this kind of dumbassery. Fix it already you bunch of nincompoops.
Part two, to most of you people, come on already. Move up to the beta version. Take my word for it, it's kind of not uncool. Maybe some of you like the old one, but you might like the new one. I do, and I'm so cool that everyone should want to be like me, or not, either way.
There is some merit, sad though it may be, that it's my comments that people would like to avoid. If that's so, then perhaps no one will ever again switch to the beta. I'm sure that's not it, but I'm not so sure as to be certain. So where does that leave us?
Wednesday, September 06, 2006
expletives
Today's broadcast of Fresh Air on NPR discusses the FCC and censorship issues. Terry Gross interviews four different people and discusses issues of censorship as well as the confusion among producers and broadcasters concerning what will or will not earn them fines. And this is a big issue currently as the FCC levies larger and larger fines while the concept of what content earns fines becomes more difficult for everyone to decide.
The final interview is with Tim Winter who is the executive director of Parent's Television Council. What he has to say, in my opinion, is mostly a steaming pile of crap. What many of these people end up saying in different ways is very telling of our growing desire in the US to let go of the responsibilities we should all have as parents. For the most part, these people seem to get it all wrong for the least mentioned of reasons.
Tim Winter referred to the Super Bowl/Janet Jackson boob shot as a striptease. This to me is indicative of the current wave of wording things in a way that is not accurate but is intended solely to ignite a certain passion. A brief view of booby is not a striptease, and considering the overabundance of commercials for drugs to help men achieve erections, one must ask why we are still so worried about a boob. Impotence drugs are much more likely to raise questions from kids that parents may want to avoid. My children are well aware of and unconcerned with a woman's breast, but they are at a young age at which I feel they are not yet ready for discussions of sex, and of these two subjects, male erections would seem more deserving of censorship.
Tim Winter further categorizes anyone with problems with censorship as people who want to get away with anything they want. He would demonize producers, writers, singer and any number of people, painting them as irresponsible. Once again, rather than honesty, we are served inflammatory language intended solely to incite the passions.
Who is to blame here though? Are the people doing the cussing guilty of corrupting young minds? How much blame should the parents shoulder for allowing their children to view things that may be inappropriate? I am very much able to understand the sorts of things my children may be exposed to, and I understand that I am the one tasked with raising and teaching them.
It is not government's place nor is it television's place to raise my children. I certainly expect some amount of understanding from the networks in what they air, and I have certain expectations of different channels based on their target audience. For this same reason, while I may let my children watch certain shows, I know to change the channel during commercial breaks on certain networks at certain times. I also know to avoid certain programs that may have content I prefer them not see or hear. As their parent, it is fully within my rights to dictate what they do or do not watch. It is both my responsibility and prerogative to check on them and know what they are listening to or watching.
According the NPR website, the Fresh Air episode will be available to listen to online at 3:00 today. It's worth a listen and not just because Terry Gross is so, so cool.
The final interview is with Tim Winter who is the executive director of Parent's Television Council. What he has to say, in my opinion, is mostly a steaming pile of crap. What many of these people end up saying in different ways is very telling of our growing desire in the US to let go of the responsibilities we should all have as parents. For the most part, these people seem to get it all wrong for the least mentioned of reasons.
Tim Winter referred to the Super Bowl/Janet Jackson boob shot as a striptease. This to me is indicative of the current wave of wording things in a way that is not accurate but is intended solely to ignite a certain passion. A brief view of booby is not a striptease, and considering the overabundance of commercials for drugs to help men achieve erections, one must ask why we are still so worried about a boob. Impotence drugs are much more likely to raise questions from kids that parents may want to avoid. My children are well aware of and unconcerned with a woman's breast, but they are at a young age at which I feel they are not yet ready for discussions of sex, and of these two subjects, male erections would seem more deserving of censorship.
Tim Winter further categorizes anyone with problems with censorship as people who want to get away with anything they want. He would demonize producers, writers, singer and any number of people, painting them as irresponsible. Once again, rather than honesty, we are served inflammatory language intended solely to incite the passions.
Who is to blame here though? Are the people doing the cussing guilty of corrupting young minds? How much blame should the parents shoulder for allowing their children to view things that may be inappropriate? I am very much able to understand the sorts of things my children may be exposed to, and I understand that I am the one tasked with raising and teaching them.
It is not government's place nor is it television's place to raise my children. I certainly expect some amount of understanding from the networks in what they air, and I have certain expectations of different channels based on their target audience. For this same reason, while I may let my children watch certain shows, I know to change the channel during commercial breaks on certain networks at certain times. I also know to avoid certain programs that may have content I prefer them not see or hear. As their parent, it is fully within my rights to dictate what they do or do not watch. It is both my responsibility and prerogative to check on them and know what they are listening to or watching.
According the NPR website, the Fresh Air episode will be available to listen to online at 3:00 today. It's worth a listen and not just because Terry Gross is so, so cool.
Tuesday, September 05, 2006
and lying and lying and lying again
This is yet another rant targeted at the boobs at World Net Daily who are yet again lying their soiled asses off. I'm going to toss a few links out and be done. I don't want to get too one track here. The lying asshats would have us believe that California schools will soon be turning kids gay because, according to the liars, the schools will be promoting the gay lifestyle and indoctrinating kids into homosexuality. However, if one simply uses Google to look at the text of these various bills they will learn that this is not the case. To put it simply, the bills are anti discrimination bills saying that, regardless of what you believe, California schools will not use materials that cast people in various groups in a disrespectful light. These liars are still able to discriminate and mislead their children, but the taxpayer funded schools won't any longer be able to.
Link to the liars here.
Link to some bills here SB1437
and here AB 606
pdf here AB 1056
Why won't these fools just stop lying to us? Why do the like/simpleminded fools that believe their shit not just use Google? How sad is such blind trust married to such blind hatred?
Link to the liars here.
Link to some bills here SB1437
and here AB 606
pdf here AB 1056
Why won't these fools just stop lying to us? Why do the like/simpleminded fools that believe their shit not just use Google? How sad is such blind trust married to such blind hatred?
more of the lies
If you listen to some noisy voices on the right, and if you tend to believe their reactionary word vomit, you might be inclined to believe that California schools are about to start teaching homosexuality alongside Marxist evolution. All this is the rotten cherry on the sundae of the hell those poor christians have daily to put up with.
Senate bill 1441 makes it illegal for organizations receiving state funds to discriminate against people based on sexual orientation. If you receive state funds in California, you are now required by law to treat gay and lesbian people as you would the other humans you may find yourself in contact with.
Sounds pretty simple doesn't it? Sounds like one of those things we shouldn't have to be told doesn't it? Sounds like taxpayer money is no longer allowed those groups who would suggest they know best how we should treat our willies and woohoos.
But the fundies can't leave it at that. They just don't like it when willie meets willie, even when neither of the willies are theirs. And as most rational people know, if I'm old enough to know to make the decision myself, and I'm not putting my willie near someone who doesn't want me to, my willie is entirely my business. So is my booty for that matter, but my point isn't the slap and tickle but the lies.
Yet another poster at that bastion of truthlessness, World Net Daily, has taken to the soapbox to decry what they perceive so differently from what was said. According to the poster, California is about to add homosexuality to the things schools teach, and by default, they will have to teach gayness as well.
Hat tip to Doc. The World Net Daily is completely aghast over this issue, and many of their posters are making up lies in reference to this bill. For all their talk of obeying their god, Thou shalt not lie, Thou shalt not bear false witness doesn't seem to apply. Odd that the ten commandments don't happen to mention sexual identity, sexual persuasion, homosexuality, etc.
Senate bill 1441 makes it illegal for organizations receiving state funds to discriminate against people based on sexual orientation. If you receive state funds in California, you are now required by law to treat gay and lesbian people as you would the other humans you may find yourself in contact with.
Sounds pretty simple doesn't it? Sounds like one of those things we shouldn't have to be told doesn't it? Sounds like taxpayer money is no longer allowed those groups who would suggest they know best how we should treat our willies and woohoos.
But the fundies can't leave it at that. They just don't like it when willie meets willie, even when neither of the willies are theirs. And as most rational people know, if I'm old enough to know to make the decision myself, and I'm not putting my willie near someone who doesn't want me to, my willie is entirely my business. So is my booty for that matter, but my point isn't the slap and tickle but the lies.
Yet another poster at that bastion of truthlessness, World Net Daily, has taken to the soapbox to decry what they perceive so differently from what was said. According to the poster, California is about to add homosexuality to the things schools teach, and by default, they will have to teach gayness as well.
The public school's downward spiral into moral oblivion continued last week when Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed SB 1441, mandating that all organizations receiving any kind of state funds, including faith-based groups, portray homosexuality, bisexuality and transexuality in a positive light. As a gemstone of all government intrusions, the measure also requires Christian schools to contradict their deeply held beliefs or forfeit government tuition assistance for their students. And this is only the first of four bills aimed at California schools by homosexual activists.One can easily view the text of the bill (pdf file) to see that it doesn't actually say what this person would have you believe. It doesn't say that one must portray homosexuality in a positive light, it just says that the people of California don't want you to use their tax dollars to discriminate against people for any reason. The christian activists want to use tax dollars to push their dogmatic agenda of hate, and they have to lie to us to make their illminded point. Why do they have to lie? What are they afraid will happen if gay people are finally just able to people instead of gay people?
Hat tip to Doc. The World Net Daily is completely aghast over this issue, and many of their posters are making up lies in reference to this bill. For all their talk of obeying their god, Thou shalt not lie, Thou shalt not bear false witness doesn't seem to apply. Odd that the ten commandments don't happen to mention sexual identity, sexual persuasion, homosexuality, etc.
Monday, September 04, 2006
bleah
Yes, I feel totally bleah today. It's a combination of playing soccer and drinking.
Yesterday, Sunday, I attended soccer practice. I played with a bunch of people, most of whom will not be on my team, and most of whom were very much younger than me. We played against a team made up mostly of people who will be on my team and are of various ages.
The league I play on is an adult league which of course means that everyone should be an adult. I refuse to believe that adulthood is something one merely progresses to by virtue of reaching a particular age. That isn't the point of course, not here, and the point is that the teams are made of people of various ages, from the possibility of 18 to, well, I don't know. I do know that I play with people over fifty.
Rather than let age discussion sidetrack me further, I must now turn back to my bleahness. I ache over a vast percentage of my body. My knee was threatening trouble from a slight twist, but it either was lying to me or the rest of my body hurts too much for me to hear the whine from the knee. My toe problem seems to have disappeared, the problem being that I had a couple of toenails that were overly long. I fortunately still have all the nails, though whatever I did to my poor toes yesterday took me off the field.
After practice and some frantic running around and taking the boys to Grandma's house, Momma and I were, late, on our way to the west side of town for her employer's company party. It was actually the Christmas party from last year, but that didn't make any difference. Following a lovely dinner at a French restaurant, we headed to the south side to a manager's house, a keg of beer and the swimming pool. I didn't swim, but I'd like to think I looked cool in my flip flops, swimming shorts and shirt, unbuttoned to show off the scrawny, tanless body.
What followed was a good bit more beer than this body needed. I drank myself stupider as I like to say. Momma also had a fair share of the drink. We fortunately ended up ready for sleep at the same time and retreated to a tent. The manager had apparently told the staff they should bring tents. He has a huge backyard, and having worked in the restaurant biz, he knows full well how we tend to party. Sadly, the rest of the staff either didn't hear about bringing tents or just didn't bother. They were all gone when we awoke, so I don't know what they did.
There's a whole other topic that I could probably get several posts out of, the drinking habits of restaurant people. On average, I would estimate that any one typical restaurant employee, on an average night, could drink enough for two or three normal people. Give us a party, or any excuse reasonable or otherwise, and we tend to try to set records for drinking stupidly.
So, having combined more exercise than I am in shape for and more drinking than I should do, regardless of shape, I have tormented my poor body unmercifully to the point where life is torment today. If I could sleep the day away and wake up tomorrow from this, I'd be ever so slightly less unhappy. But that isn't the case. Those boys are not going to watch themselves while I nurse myself.
Part of me would like to think I learned a lesson, but the drunks of the world never learn this lesson, no matter how often we puke it up. I'm not even taking a day off as I might once have pretended to do. I'm a firm believer in the hair of the dog treatment, and there's a beer in the refrigerator now calling my name.
Yesterday, Sunday, I attended soccer practice. I played with a bunch of people, most of whom will not be on my team, and most of whom were very much younger than me. We played against a team made up mostly of people who will be on my team and are of various ages.
The league I play on is an adult league which of course means that everyone should be an adult. I refuse to believe that adulthood is something one merely progresses to by virtue of reaching a particular age. That isn't the point of course, not here, and the point is that the teams are made of people of various ages, from the possibility of 18 to, well, I don't know. I do know that I play with people over fifty.
Rather than let age discussion sidetrack me further, I must now turn back to my bleahness. I ache over a vast percentage of my body. My knee was threatening trouble from a slight twist, but it either was lying to me or the rest of my body hurts too much for me to hear the whine from the knee. My toe problem seems to have disappeared, the problem being that I had a couple of toenails that were overly long. I fortunately still have all the nails, though whatever I did to my poor toes yesterday took me off the field.
After practice and some frantic running around and taking the boys to Grandma's house, Momma and I were, late, on our way to the west side of town for her employer's company party. It was actually the Christmas party from last year, but that didn't make any difference. Following a lovely dinner at a French restaurant, we headed to the south side to a manager's house, a keg of beer and the swimming pool. I didn't swim, but I'd like to think I looked cool in my flip flops, swimming shorts and shirt, unbuttoned to show off the scrawny, tanless body.
What followed was a good bit more beer than this body needed. I drank myself stupider as I like to say. Momma also had a fair share of the drink. We fortunately ended up ready for sleep at the same time and retreated to a tent. The manager had apparently told the staff they should bring tents. He has a huge backyard, and having worked in the restaurant biz, he knows full well how we tend to party. Sadly, the rest of the staff either didn't hear about bringing tents or just didn't bother. They were all gone when we awoke, so I don't know what they did.
There's a whole other topic that I could probably get several posts out of, the drinking habits of restaurant people. On average, I would estimate that any one typical restaurant employee, on an average night, could drink enough for two or three normal people. Give us a party, or any excuse reasonable or otherwise, and we tend to try to set records for drinking stupidly.
So, having combined more exercise than I am in shape for and more drinking than I should do, regardless of shape, I have tormented my poor body unmercifully to the point where life is torment today. If I could sleep the day away and wake up tomorrow from this, I'd be ever so slightly less unhappy. But that isn't the case. Those boys are not going to watch themselves while I nurse myself.
Part of me would like to think I learned a lesson, but the drunks of the world never learn this lesson, no matter how often we puke it up. I'm not even taking a day off as I might once have pretended to do. I'm a firm believer in the hair of the dog treatment, and there's a beer in the refrigerator now calling my name.
Saturday, September 02, 2006
surrounded by dishonesty
The subject of dishonesty has been on my mind for some time. I will mention the big pack of lies that we all face currently from Bushco and any number of right wing people married to a disturbing fantasy. Our nation is mired in responsibility for a living hell that our president has caused to arise in Iraq having forced our soldiers to create the catalyst for an ever worsening civil war.
So many of the rank and file of the right wing have said it for so long, but one of Bush's inner circle has finally given voice to an amazing piece of dishonesty. The suggestion is that the average American is a terrorist enabler merely by seeing the lies and the war for what they are. If we disagree with their point of view, if we disbelieve that warrantless war is a fine way to wage diplomacy, we are causing physical aid to those who are our true enemies.
Those true enemies, those terrorists that would actually dare to attack our nation, even they are further vilified by a fog of dishonesty. Would that anyone with the knowledge would tell us exactly why we find ourselves so often in the cross hairs of so much of the world and do so with the painful honesty we deserve.
Some among us, those believers in the longest running superstition, create daily their own dishonesty, creating a web of lies before retreating behind their rule book which, oddly enough, demands honesty of its followers. And this rule book is one that says within it that it applies most to those who would follow its doctrine, and this book has truthfulness as one of its main tenets. The followers of this book would name themselves referees in a game they want so to force us all to play. I ask again why the followers of this book don't actually follow it most of the time, but I know that my answer will not be one of truth or even of faith, another of this books main requirements.
Address the followers of this book and ask him some questions. Ask them the ratio of mentions by their lord and saviour of kindness and generosity to homosexuality; ask them which god mentions more and if that indicates his or her preference as to how they spend their time. Ask them if they are followers in a true sense of the book and its commands.
This post has been in my head for some time, but the final inspiration came tonight while I was watching television. I finally turned it off when I saw the newest anti-drug commercial. It, like all that I've ever seen, was created in a way to create yet more dishonesty around the issue of drug use. I find it interesting to watch the alcohol based commercial in which the danger is that one will perhaps imbibe to a point that they couldn't successfully drive a car. The ad shows various drivers driving poorly, their cars and trucks filled with alcohol in what I see as a fairly comical interpretation of drunk driving.
Certain drugs are deemed evil and are therefore illegal. One must admit that not all drugs are safe, yet what drug, whether legal or illegal can be said to be completely safe. Some drugs are designed in labs to treat specific human illnesses. Some drugs are created to deal with other human issues. Certainly certain drugs can be said to hold some blame when users make bad decisions. The problem lies in the fact that we are so often given complete dishonesty when drugs are discussed in that we never seem to approach certain aspects of the drugs.
If drugs are illegal because some have a tendency to addict their users, then why don't we approach the nature of addiction instead of jailing people involved in drug sales and use? Why in the case of marijuana are we never even given an honest study of the plant? It's use is perhaps not as old as that of alcohol. Much like many things that man has discovered though, we are certain that it has been in use as long as most other things we still use.
I have another ratio that I'd be interested in, the number of people who have smoked pot to those who have not. It would be an interesting survey if one could do a census, assuming that one would get complete honesty from all involved.
Like gay sex, those uninterested in marijuana should be the last people getting to make suggestions about how the rest of us go about our lives, but too often, the commercials show up to show how bad life is for people who smoke pot. The commercials mention drugs in a sense of the evil, the lives destroyed and the potential wasted, but we don't get to discuss how little Johnny came to be a pill head. We don't talk about what cocaine is really like and why some people get sucked into the hell of addiction. We don't ever hear of the numerous true and proven therapeutic uses of marijuana.
We get discussions of lots of things, and it always seems there's a certain element driving the focus. We don't get real issues, and sadly we too often don't realize it because we can't see through the fog of dishonesty. It comes at us from so many directions, and we've become a nation driven by fears that are spoon fed to us from various sources.
So many of the rank and file of the right wing have said it for so long, but one of Bush's inner circle has finally given voice to an amazing piece of dishonesty. The suggestion is that the average American is a terrorist enabler merely by seeing the lies and the war for what they are. If we disagree with their point of view, if we disbelieve that warrantless war is a fine way to wage diplomacy, we are causing physical aid to those who are our true enemies.
Those true enemies, those terrorists that would actually dare to attack our nation, even they are further vilified by a fog of dishonesty. Would that anyone with the knowledge would tell us exactly why we find ourselves so often in the cross hairs of so much of the world and do so with the painful honesty we deserve.
Some among us, those believers in the longest running superstition, create daily their own dishonesty, creating a web of lies before retreating behind their rule book which, oddly enough, demands honesty of its followers. And this rule book is one that says within it that it applies most to those who would follow its doctrine, and this book has truthfulness as one of its main tenets. The followers of this book would name themselves referees in a game they want so to force us all to play. I ask again why the followers of this book don't actually follow it most of the time, but I know that my answer will not be one of truth or even of faith, another of this books main requirements.
Address the followers of this book and ask him some questions. Ask them the ratio of mentions by their lord and saviour of kindness and generosity to homosexuality; ask them which god mentions more and if that indicates his or her preference as to how they spend their time. Ask them if they are followers in a true sense of the book and its commands.
This post has been in my head for some time, but the final inspiration came tonight while I was watching television. I finally turned it off when I saw the newest anti-drug commercial. It, like all that I've ever seen, was created in a way to create yet more dishonesty around the issue of drug use. I find it interesting to watch the alcohol based commercial in which the danger is that one will perhaps imbibe to a point that they couldn't successfully drive a car. The ad shows various drivers driving poorly, their cars and trucks filled with alcohol in what I see as a fairly comical interpretation of drunk driving.
Certain drugs are deemed evil and are therefore illegal. One must admit that not all drugs are safe, yet what drug, whether legal or illegal can be said to be completely safe. Some drugs are designed in labs to treat specific human illnesses. Some drugs are created to deal with other human issues. Certainly certain drugs can be said to hold some blame when users make bad decisions. The problem lies in the fact that we are so often given complete dishonesty when drugs are discussed in that we never seem to approach certain aspects of the drugs.
If drugs are illegal because some have a tendency to addict their users, then why don't we approach the nature of addiction instead of jailing people involved in drug sales and use? Why in the case of marijuana are we never even given an honest study of the plant? It's use is perhaps not as old as that of alcohol. Much like many things that man has discovered though, we are certain that it has been in use as long as most other things we still use.
I have another ratio that I'd be interested in, the number of people who have smoked pot to those who have not. It would be an interesting survey if one could do a census, assuming that one would get complete honesty from all involved.
Like gay sex, those uninterested in marijuana should be the last people getting to make suggestions about how the rest of us go about our lives, but too often, the commercials show up to show how bad life is for people who smoke pot. The commercials mention drugs in a sense of the evil, the lives destroyed and the potential wasted, but we don't get to discuss how little Johnny came to be a pill head. We don't talk about what cocaine is really like and why some people get sucked into the hell of addiction. We don't ever hear of the numerous true and proven therapeutic uses of marijuana.
We get discussions of lots of things, and it always seems there's a certain element driving the focus. We don't get real issues, and sadly we too often don't realize it because we can't see through the fog of dishonesty. It comes at us from so many directions, and we've become a nation driven by fears that are spoon fed to us from various sources.
my seal
No, not the clubbing kind, the look at me being cool kind. Hat tip to several posters at Science Blogs. I didn't notice whose blog there I first saw this on, but that's where I learned of the seal generator. Go here and make your own seal. Apparently it's what all the cool sciencey types are doing, though I'm sure theirs are all intelligenty and stuff while mine displays my own true nature.
If you are not familiar with Science Blogs, go check them out. They seem like a smart bunch of folks over there, the thinky kind of smart. I like to think that I'm not not smart, but my smart is more of a quickly thinking of something rudely funny to say at your expense kind of smart. Yes, I know that smart ass doesn't necessarily mean smart, but I dances with the one what brung me.
Thursday, August 31, 2006
pile o' questions
Shannon over at Phat Mommy, after answering some homeschooling questions posed her own list of unschooling questions. I'm taking her up on her offer to answer her questions here at my own little home on the nets. So pop yourself a beer and lets hop on in.
1) ONE FIELD TRIP YOUR CHILD LEARNED A LOT FROM
What counts as a field trip? I'm going to use the trip to Birmingham for Momma's roller derby bout. We arrived in town over an hour before the caravan of other teammembers and had some time to roam around. We had a list of restaurants to perhaps visit, but we didn't get around to doing any real planning. Discovering Kelly Ingram Park and the civil rights exhibit was really interesting. We haven't really approached civil rights and America's dirty past before that. I don't know really that he learned a lot, and The Boy, at three, was much more interested on what he could climb, but it is a door that we've opened to something we'll eventually cover.
3) ORDINARY HOUSEHOLD ITEM THAT’S GIVEN YOU THE MOST EDUCATION MILEAGE
The kitchen? The computer would probably be a more accurate answer.
1) ONE FIELD TRIP YOUR CHILD LEARNED A LOT FROM
What counts as a field trip? I'm going to use the trip to Birmingham for Momma's roller derby bout. We arrived in town over an hour before the caravan of other teammembers and had some time to roam around. We had a list of restaurants to perhaps visit, but we didn't get around to doing any real planning. Discovering Kelly Ingram Park and the civil rights exhibit was really interesting. We haven't really approached civil rights and America's dirty past before that. I don't know really that he learned a lot, and The Boy, at three, was much more interested on what he could climb, but it is a door that we've opened to something we'll eventually cover.
2) THE GAME/TOY THAT’S GIVEN YOU THE MOST EDUCATION MILEAGE
The Medal of Honor games that we have for the Gamecube have opened up discussion of World War II. These weren't intended as educational, but that's the beauty of the unschooling life. While most of Big Brother's interest in the historical aspect involves the weaponry, we have discussed some of the causes of the war, and it's a beginning.3) ORDINARY HOUSEHOLD ITEM THAT’S GIVEN YOU THE MOST EDUCATION MILEAGE
The kitchen? The computer would probably be a more accurate answer.
4) NAME THREE MAGAZINES/BOOKS ON YOUR COFFEE TABLE
Seed is a science magazine that we had never heard of till recieving a gift subscription. I would recomend this magazine to every person that is literate. We also get Popular Science and National Geographic.
5) ONE SKILL YOUR CHILD LEARNED FROM GROCERY SHOPPING
Picking produce, which may be the single most valuabe skill one can take away from the grocery store. All the other things one can learn from grocery shopping pales, in my opinion, to knowing to smell the blossom end of a cantaloupe to check for ripeness.
6) ONE RESOURCE YOU THOUGHT ABOUT BUYING, BUT THEN REALIZED YOUR CHILD COULD LEARN THAT INFORMATION JUST BY LIVING LIFE
I can't really think of anything. We've seen things that, on first look may have looked interesting but proved to be more crap than not. But I don't know of anything that we didn't buy for this specific reason. More than what we can learn from something we will look at the use we or the boys could get out of it, and as often as not we would pass on something because it wasn't likely to be of lasting quality. I'm more likely to pass on something for being too simple or because it seems like crap.
7) AMOUNT OF MONEY YOU’VE SAVED BY NOT PURCHASING CURRICULUM
I have no way of knowing. I've never really considered any curriculum as the freedom from that sort of mentality is one of the bright lights of not schooling for me.Wednesday, August 30, 2006
some chit for your ears and eyes
One of my favorite ways to use You Tube is not so much as a video site. Of all the albums I own, there are plenty more that I don't. Lately I've been finding songs on You Tube that I like but don't own, and instead of watching the video, I'll do my other interneting while listening to the song. This isn't to say that I don't get sucked into a string of videos sometimes. It's way to easy to stay up late link jumping at You Tube. So here are a few of the things that kept me up late last night.
First is some O-U-T Kast, so get up off your ass.
This one is a bit older, but no one but Pharcyde tells us about yo Momma like you need to hear.
Finally is a song with which I wasn't familiar before last night. It's a great song and a great video.
First is some O-U-T Kast, so get up off your ass.
This one is a bit older, but no one but Pharcyde tells us about yo Momma like you need to hear.
Finally is a song with which I wasn't familiar before last night. It's a great song and a great video.
Monday, August 28, 2006
hard part of soccer season
For me, the hardest part of coaching soccer is the initial phone call. We play in the local AYSO league, and I've been coaching Big Brother since his second U6 season. Prior to each season beginning, the coaches all meet at a local church where we get our packet of team info, the info on each player and our practice field and time.
I really enjoy coaching the kids, and I love getting the chance to play even when it is with a rowdy bunch of 6-8 year olds. What I don't like is calling the families. I can call people I know, but I hate that cold call feeling you get when you have to introduce yourself to people you've never met to inform them that you are their child's new coach and when you've scheduled the weekly practice.
I don't know why I so dislike that first call, but I do. Once that first call is out of the way, we meet in person at that first practice. After that I don't have any problem calling them if I need to.
The final parent just called me. I made all the calls last night, but I was unable to actually talk to this family, leaving a message on the mother's voicemail. I don't trust the voicemail in a situation like this, so I've been expecting to call again at some point to be sure I talk to a real person. She called me just minutes ago ending the wait. Now all my team members have been contacted, and everyone knows what they need to know. The weight of the initial call is finally off my shoulders. It's a mild WooHoo moment.
So now that the hard part is over I can look forward to the fun part. One of the mothers even mentioned her willingness to coordinate the snacks as well as the end of season party, two more of my least favorite chores. I can't wait to meet my new kids and get on the field. Practice starts tomorrow night.
I also attended my own first practice yesterday only to learn with some dread that our first game is two weeks away. I didn't run that much, yet I have the sore calves today to suggest either I did run more than I think or that I'm in much worse shape than even I thought. I guess them's the breaks.
I really enjoy coaching the kids, and I love getting the chance to play even when it is with a rowdy bunch of 6-8 year olds. What I don't like is calling the families. I can call people I know, but I hate that cold call feeling you get when you have to introduce yourself to people you've never met to inform them that you are their child's new coach and when you've scheduled the weekly practice.
I don't know why I so dislike that first call, but I do. Once that first call is out of the way, we meet in person at that first practice. After that I don't have any problem calling them if I need to.
The final parent just called me. I made all the calls last night, but I was unable to actually talk to this family, leaving a message on the mother's voicemail. I don't trust the voicemail in a situation like this, so I've been expecting to call again at some point to be sure I talk to a real person. She called me just minutes ago ending the wait. Now all my team members have been contacted, and everyone knows what they need to know. The weight of the initial call is finally off my shoulders. It's a mild WooHoo moment.
So now that the hard part is over I can look forward to the fun part. One of the mothers even mentioned her willingness to coordinate the snacks as well as the end of season party, two more of my least favorite chores. I can't wait to meet my new kids and get on the field. Practice starts tomorrow night.
I also attended my own first practice yesterday only to learn with some dread that our first game is two weeks away. I didn't run that much, yet I have the sore calves today to suggest either I did run more than I think or that I'm in much worse shape than even I thought. I guess them's the breaks.
Saturday, August 26, 2006
mindless violence meets mindless politicians
Many of my favorite video games are violent, and many of Big Brother's favorite video games are violent. I do practice restraint with regards to certain games that are not at all fitting for my children, and as a parent, that is both my duty as well as my prerogative. Thankfully, many states are willing to accept that it isn't their place to dictate to me what games I and my family may purchase and play.
I'm amazed and a little disgusted that people can actually take this issue all the way to the courts in trying to outlaw the sale of violent video games. Louisiana is the most recent state to send the fools packing, one of the fools being their very own governor, Kathleen Blanco. According to the Gov. it is the job of the state to protect kids, and since the state won't do it, parents are going to have to.
Well no fucking shit ya dumbass sack of stupid. They are my kids, not in an ownership kind of way but in a parent-knows-best kind of way. This is an easy link back to homeschooling, but beyond that mention, I won't take it there.
One year after Katrina devastated the city of New Orleans and the city still isn't even close to welcoming back all the refugees that had to flee the city. Given the debacle that was the aftermath of the storm, given the inability of the city or the state to respectfully deal with the citizens hurt and displaced by the storm and their governor can't think of any better way to spend taxpayer dollars than to try convincing the court that our childrens' mental health is being destroyed by pretending to shoot bad guys. Um, Ms. Blanco, kids grow up pretending to kill bad guys. I grew up watching John Wayne shoot bad guys like it was cool. My brother and I as Captain Kirk and Lt. Spock phasered many a bad guy.
Here's the actual quote from Gov. Blanco as I lift it directly from Wired dot com, to whom goes the hat tip.
This is basically what I was thinking, except that I don't want to rely on the court as the arbiter of what is or is not good for my children. The courts are not our parents, and as a parent, parenting is what you do. Certainly there are instances in which the court should step in and protect children as well as adults. But believe me, censorship is never going to be okay. We are in the land of the free no matter how many sheeple want like hell for someone to tell them what is good and bad.
I'm amazed and a little disgusted that people can actually take this issue all the way to the courts in trying to outlaw the sale of violent video games. Louisiana is the most recent state to send the fools packing, one of the fools being their very own governor, Kathleen Blanco. According to the Gov. it is the job of the state to protect kids, and since the state won't do it, parents are going to have to.
Well no fucking shit ya dumbass sack of stupid. They are my kids, not in an ownership kind of way but in a parent-knows-best kind of way. This is an easy link back to homeschooling, but beyond that mention, I won't take it there.
One year after Katrina devastated the city of New Orleans and the city still isn't even close to welcoming back all the refugees that had to flee the city. Given the debacle that was the aftermath of the storm, given the inability of the city or the state to respectfully deal with the citizens hurt and displaced by the storm and their governor can't think of any better way to spend taxpayer dollars than to try convincing the court that our childrens' mental health is being destroyed by pretending to shoot bad guys. Um, Ms. Blanco, kids grow up pretending to kill bad guys. I grew up watching John Wayne shoot bad guys like it was cool. My brother and I as Captain Kirk and Lt. Spock phasered many a bad guy.
Here's the actual quote from Gov. Blanco as I lift it directly from Wired dot com, to whom goes the hat tip.
I'm calling on all parents to diligently monitor the video games that their children are allowed to play. If the courts can not protect our children, then we need to do it by rejecting the merchant of violence.
This is basically what I was thinking, except that I don't want to rely on the court as the arbiter of what is or is not good for my children. The courts are not our parents, and as a parent, parenting is what you do. Certainly there are instances in which the court should step in and protect children as well as adults. But believe me, censorship is never going to be okay. We are in the land of the free no matter how many sheeple want like hell for someone to tell them what is good and bad.
neato linko
Hat tip to Lynn Point at KnoxViews for this one. This link will take you to a page at Lynn Point Records' website. In 1929 and 1930, Knoxville's St. James Hotel, home at the time to WNOX radio, hosted Brunswick Recording Company. As they did in other cities, Brunswick recorded songs by a number of local musicians. These songs are being made available via Lynn Point Records at the above link. I have yet to fully explore the songs, but I certainly plan to.
Friday, August 25, 2006
attempting the mild derby rant
As any regular reader here will/should know, my wife is a member of our local roller derby league, Hard Knox Rollergirls, who are members of the Women's Flat Track Derby Association. These girls have been working hard to get themselves in shape, strengthen their bodies, better their skating abilities, and they've been working at this for several months now. It's really gratifying, even to me as an (what I'll call) associated observer to see the amount of work these girls are doing. It is work, and it is hard, and I can see so much improvement in their abilities. I know there are some new and strong friendships growing, and I would even wager that many of these girls have developed strength other than physical.
By the way, roller derby is in fact a sport, and I suggest that anyone who disagrees should lace up their skates, put on their pads and try any one of these girls on the rink. Even the smallest of these girls will happily point out the error in the idea that this isn't a real sport.
The Tragic City Rollers put together an amazing team. One of their jammers in particular seemed to have rockets installed in her skates as she zipped around. I do not want to detract at all from the work they've done to prepare themselves or from the spirit they showed, and I respect their efforts no less than the effort of our own local league. They fought just as hard as our girls.
Before I'm completely done I want to reiterate the pride I have for the Hard Knox Rollergirls. There is so much dedication in our league. These girls push themselves so hard at every practice, and I know that every match they play is going to be good. Regardless of the score, they can all hold their heads high. They fought hard. They fought beautifully. They kick motherfucking ass, hard as hell!
Updated to add: I have removed some content from this post. The Tragic City Rollers were gracious hosts and were tough competitors. I regret having made any suggestion that they were unfair in the match described above, which is the content I removed. Both cities were well represented in this bout, and all the girls and staff should be proud of themselves. To all Tragic City Rollers, I am sorry I posted what I did. Thank you to those who commented, and if you'd like, see this post to see some explanation for my change of heart.
By the way, roller derby is in fact a sport, and I suggest that anyone who disagrees should lace up their skates, put on their pads and try any one of these girls on the rink. Even the smallest of these girls will happily point out the error in the idea that this isn't a real sport.
The Tragic City Rollers put together an amazing team. One of their jammers in particular seemed to have rockets installed in her skates as she zipped around. I do not want to detract at all from the work they've done to prepare themselves or from the spirit they showed, and I respect their efforts no less than the effort of our own local league. They fought just as hard as our girls.
Before I'm completely done I want to reiterate the pride I have for the Hard Knox Rollergirls. There is so much dedication in our league. These girls push themselves so hard at every practice, and I know that every match they play is going to be good. Regardless of the score, they can all hold their heads high. They fought hard. They fought beautifully. They kick motherfucking ass, hard as hell!
Updated to add: I have removed some content from this post. The Tragic City Rollers were gracious hosts and were tough competitors. I regret having made any suggestion that they were unfair in the match described above, which is the content I removed. Both cities were well represented in this bout, and all the girls and staff should be proud of themselves. To all Tragic City Rollers, I am sorry I posted what I did. Thank you to those who commented, and if you'd like, see this post to see some explanation for my change of heart.
money grubbing finks at Amsouth bank
Banks are shitty places to have your money stolen from you. They can set their practices/procedures any way they want, and you can't do much but walk away if you are unhappy. Once they've stolen a pile of your money though, it's a little late and walking away is basically a Pyrrhic victory.
Before we left town this past weekend we deposited Momma's check. We made a few purchases using our debit card over the weekend knowing that we had plenty of money, that along with the check, the sales would clear on Monday night. That was not the case.
Apparently, because the check is not drawn on Amsouth, soon not to be our bank anymore, they deposited only one hundred dollars of it on Monday. They also let all the purchases go through before the check, though the check was deposited at least a day before any of the purchases were made.
So the bank decided that they should charge us almost three hundred dollars for going slightly over, which if the business was transacted in the order it happened would never happen. And when Momma called them today, they decided to be smug assholes about it and offer us a third of the money back as they are content to steal only a small amount.
So Amsouth basically told us to go to hell because they were keeping the stolen money. Momma has had this job over two years, during which time her paychecks have never once bounced. We've had this account for over eight years, and the only other time this has happened to us, completely the fault of the bank, a much smaller amount of money stolen then, we were able to work the problem out. We have never been anything but good customers, maintaining a balance and never bouncing anything. Because Amsouth doesn't give a shit about their customers, they would rather lose good customers than not steal money.
So, thank you Amsouth. I hope you enjoy our money and the knowledge that your greed could really have hurt my children. My family will be fine without that two hundred dollars, but your greed is making my next week really difficult. And as soon as our different bills are through the bank, we will be taking our money and our business to a different bank.
Before we left town this past weekend we deposited Momma's check. We made a few purchases using our debit card over the weekend knowing that we had plenty of money, that along with the check, the sales would clear on Monday night. That was not the case.
Apparently, because the check is not drawn on Amsouth, soon not to be our bank anymore, they deposited only one hundred dollars of it on Monday. They also let all the purchases go through before the check, though the check was deposited at least a day before any of the purchases were made.
So the bank decided that they should charge us almost three hundred dollars for going slightly over, which if the business was transacted in the order it happened would never happen. And when Momma called them today, they decided to be smug assholes about it and offer us a third of the money back as they are content to steal only a small amount.
So Amsouth basically told us to go to hell because they were keeping the stolen money. Momma has had this job over two years, during which time her paychecks have never once bounced. We've had this account for over eight years, and the only other time this has happened to us, completely the fault of the bank, a much smaller amount of money stolen then, we were able to work the problem out. We have never been anything but good customers, maintaining a balance and never bouncing anything. Because Amsouth doesn't give a shit about their customers, they would rather lose good customers than not steal money.
So, thank you Amsouth. I hope you enjoy our money and the knowledge that your greed could really have hurt my children. My family will be fine without that two hundred dollars, but your greed is making my next week really difficult. And as soon as our different bills are through the bank, we will be taking our money and our business to a different bank.
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