This past weekend was the 10th Annual Patriot Games Classic on the campus of George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia. It was the sixth consecutive year Wellington Debate was in attendance, and to understand why this is my favorite tournament of the year, you need to understand what happened the first time we attended (December 2008), and how GMU Director of Forensics Peter Pober positively and drastically influenced my life in one fell swoop.
During our first visit to GMU, one of my juniors was paired up in Public Forum Debate with a student from another area school (a hybrid entry). Because of an incident that took place that Friday (the day before the tournament), my student decided to quit the competition and head back to Florida ... with his mother's approval (she booked his flight and limo ride to the airport) ... while at the same time refusing to give the partner he ditched any of the research or cases he had on his computer. (He refused to give this information up despite my insistence he do so.)
With the non-Wellington debater in tears, I told her I would talk to Peter and we would try to come up with some sort of solution. I had never met him, but knew his reputation as a student-first debate coach from his days in the School District of Palm Beach County 30+ years before. When final registration opened that night, I approached Peter and explained the situation. Without hesitation, he offered a variety of options to solve the problem, including letting her switch events, allowing another student to partner with her from a different event, finding another partner for her if we couldn't find her one, or even letting her "maverick" (debate solo) in PFD.
"She will compete," he told me.
This last-minute flexibility, to ensure a student who dropped around $400 for a weekend in the nation's capital would participate, blew me away. At that point, I had been coaching maybe half a dozen years, and had never encountered a more pro-student coach. I was just hoping some sort of resolve could be achieved; after all, it would have been real easy for him (or anyone trying to finalize a major national tournament) to say, "Look, the tourney starts in 10 hours, there's no way we can accommodate such changes last-minute."
But he didn't do that. Instead, he bent over backwards to ensure she would have as positive an experience as possible.
I looked at Peter after we had resolved the issue and told him, "You have me for life."
(Sidebar: she did compete, with a student from a third school, and both represented Wellington on stage to receive recognition for advancing to tournament break rounds ... despite having to put together research and cases from scratch between midnight and 3 am in my hotel room ... and despite her new partner having never done PFD before that tournament.)
So for six years now, Wellington has attended GMU. We've had many successes, peppered with a few moments that made me question whether to remain in teaching, let alone coaching, let alone my sanity ... but for the most part, it's been a good run.
In 2012, Peter invited me to assist in the debate/congress tabulation room, which I accepted. This year, with a virtually novice crew, I was excited about the experience our students would receive, helping to bridge a vibrant past with a solid-looking future. But even I was not prepared for what would be, for me, one of the most amazing highlights of my 14+ year debate coaching career.
At the end of the GMU tournament awards ceremony Sunday night, Peter recognized five new Patriot Games "Mason Mentors," an honor bestowed upon by him to debate coaches he respects for their work ethic, their dedication to debate and student achievement, and their positive impact on the forensic community as a whole. The list of past recipients reads like a "who's who" of debate coaching: Tony Figliola (Holy Ghost Prep, PA), Tom Durkin (Loyola-Blakefield, MD), David Yastremski (Ridge, NJ), Steve Medoff (Pennsbury, PA), Harry Strong (Des Moines Roosevelt, IA), Mary Schick (Krop, FL), Beth Goldman (Taravella, FL), Michael Vigars (Trinity Prep, FL), Alexandra Sencer (Lake Mary Prep, FL), Steve Meadows (Danville, KY), Robert Sheard (Durham Academy, NC), Bro. Kevin Tidd (Delbarton School, NJ), and Kristie Taylor (Jupiter, FL), are just a few of the amazing coaches who have been recognized as Mason Mentors. Many are individuals Peter has known for decades; all are known nationally as coaches who put student needs and achievements above their own interests.
On Sunday night, I was honored to have my name added to the impressive list of coaches past and present who are Mason Mentors.
I am humbled beyond belief by the accolade. Writing this commentary is extremely difficult for me, because I have never been one to tout my professional or personal successes. When I was recognized as Florida Forensic League Coach of the Year in 2012, I think I included the honor as a pseudo-afterthought in my email about that year's FFL Varsity State results. Because it's never been about me, it's about the students, and how to ensure they have the best possible positive opportunities for knowledge and success.
In Peter's comments to the large audience leading into the announcement (and I wish I had a video recording of it!), he spoke of his experiences in Palm Beach with former Twin Lakes/Wellington coach Dale McCall, and the close association they had in the local debate community. He spoke of her building a nationally-recognized program, and how difficult it is to maintain that program after a successful coach leaves that leadership position. And that since taking over the Wellington program in 2002, I have strived to provide a successful learning opportunity for my students, both locally and nationally. He described me as "modest" (which I am) and "quiet" (which implies he may need to get to know me a bit better).
I now have a nice miniature bust of George Mason in my classroom, next to my engraved 2012 FFLCOY vase. But more importantly, this represents a total team effort. While I may have received recognition for my dedication to the forensic arts, I could never have achieved this without the proactive involvement of current and former debaters, their families, administration, and fellow debate coaches. Thank you for believing in me, as I believe in you :)
Forty-seven years ago today, mankind boldly went where it had never gone before. And a whole new iconic genre was born. It could be argued Star Trek has become the most successful and recognized media spectacle of the past 50 years - yes, even bigger than the James Bond empire. Tech Republic certainly thinks so, listing it at the top of its "Top 10 Geek Media Franchises of All Time" (topping Star Wars and Doctor Who, among others). When you combine the initial TV series plus its various reincarnations, movies, parodies, books, video games, greeting cards, ComicCon tributes, and so much more, Star Trek has had a major impact on today's society, and will do so in the future.
The series' immense box office haul has been about quantity, rather than quality, to be honest. There have been amazing moments - "Khaaaaaaaaaaan!" comes to mind, as does the meeting of captains Kirk and Picard in Star Trek: Generations - but the Gene Roddenberry-inspired space saga's accomplishment is really about staying power.
I had the opportunity to meet George Takei (yes, Sulu) this past July as the Florida Supercon in Miami. It was an honor and a privilege to meet Takei, who has (like William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy) remained visible in the media eye and voiced his opinion about political issues (in particular orbiting around gay rights). We had a chance to chat, albeit briefly, about his position on the Boy Scouts of America and gay rights issues whilst in Miami, and I even had the opportunity to bring our own "six degrees" moment to light. (The actress who played his daughter in the aforementioned Star Trek: Generations, Jacqui Kim, graduated a year after me from Bloomfield Hills Lahser High School). He thought that was pretty cool.
So here I present five (or more) of my favorite Star Trek movie moments, because ... seriously, why not?
(1) "Khaaaaaaaaaaan!" I mean, hell, I even mentioned it in my comments a few paragraphs ago, so how could I neglect it here? A classic moment from Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan:
(2) Who else but Kirk would have the balls to question God's existence openly? NO ONE, that's who! Not a great movie, to be honest, but one of my favorite scenes in the series is from Star Trek V: The Final Frontier, where Kirk - in all his Kirkiness - addresses the elephant in the room: What does God need with a starship?
It’s no secret that The Final Frontier is 100% Shatner's baby, baby! Not only is the movie heavily Kirkcentric, it also features him doing more action-adventure oriented things than in the previous films. But when asked to share his pain with Sybok, Kirk becomes the Kirk of old, yelling, "I don’t want my pain taken away, I need my pain!" This is classic Kirk - a bit over the top, and a bit cartoony ... just like our protagonist.
(3) Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home landed the Star Trek crew in San Francisco ... a place extremely foreign to a gang used to visiting numerous foreign societies. Nuclear wessles, indeed ...
(4) Spock's death in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan was as riveting and tear-jerking a moment that ever existed in cinematic history. I've connected his farewell commentary into many a Lincoln Douglas Debate speech for my students: "The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few, or the one."
Leonard Nimoy discusses that specific scene in his book "I Am Spock":
This, of course, ties in to Star Trek III: The Search for Spock, when the crew of the USS Enterprise need to get Spock's body back from Genesis, and Kirk sacrifices the ship to save the crew. Because sometimes, the needs of the one outweigh the needs of the many ...
(5) Passing the torch from the original Star Trek to the Star Trek: The Next Generation world involved bringing Kirk and Piccard together in a time travel paradigm ... something the space aces were more than capable of doing on a regular basis.
Live long and prosper for another half-century (and beyond) ... Weird News of the Day
From CNN: "107-year-old man killed in police shootout in Arkansas, authorities say'" - Committing aggravated assault, getting involved in a standoff with SWAT officers who send in camera, gas, and a "distraction device" (whatever that is), getting killed in a shootout after negotiations fail is no way to go through life, son. But it's one hell of a way to end your life! Stupid News of the Day
From USA Today: "Iowa grants gun permits to the blind'" - Who says justice turns a blind eye? I bet they never saw this one coming, though ... Florida News of the Day
From The South Florida Sun-Sentinel: "Cops: Man, 83, nabbed in sex sting said he wanted 'everything'" - Apparently, he didn't realize "everything" included a complimentary ride to the local jail ... Video of the Day
I'm hoopnitized!
The Fine Five - September 7, 2013
(1) FIRE UP CHIPS! My Central Michigan Chippewas looked pathetic at the start of today's game against New Hampshire (fucking NEW HAMPSHIRE!!!), trailing 13-0 early. But the Fighting Chips fought back and won on a field goal as time expired, 24-21. Play of the game: a 97-yard touchdown connection from QB Cooper Rush to receiver Titus Davis to tie the game in the fourth quarter.
(2) I'm still not very optimistic about the Chippewas' chances this year. Blown out by 50 at Michigan last week was painful, but - hey - it was Michigan. Barely surviving against New Hampshire this week? Sigh ... it's gonna be a long season.
(3) Joined David Traill and a slew of others on welcoming World War II veterans back from a day in the nation's capital as part of the Southeast Florida Honor Flight at Palm Beach International Airport. Honor Flight is a national nonprofit that sponsors free visits to Washington, D.C., war memorials for aging veterans.This was my second time joining Traill, currently a history teacher at Suncoast High School and a former coworker of mine when I started teaching at South Fork High School in Stuart in 1999. The last time I went with him was two years ago, when the program was much smaller in nature. There were hundreds in attendance tonight, including students from Suncoast and Cardinal Newman high schools, and Will and Simone Hoover, former debate parents of mine whose sons have both served in the United States Armed Forces. It was their first time at an Honor Flight celebration, and I doubt it will be their last.
(4) I don't eat fast food any more, but if I did, I'd still stay away from the new Burger King conception.
(5) There's days I wonder why I do my job. Education is under attack by political factions, we're underfunded and overstressed, and the amount of testing we need to put our students through is over-the-top stressful. But at least I don't have to deal with draconian district mandates about what I can wear on the job ... oh, wait. FUCK YOU, LITTLE ROCK! Weird News of the Day
From Opposing Views: "Patient Sues After Anesthesiologist Puts Moustache, Tear Stickers On Her Face During Surgery'" - I'd sue, too ... I mean, it doesn't even LOOK like a real tattoo of a moustache and tears! Stupid News of the Day
From Komo News: "On-duty detective allegedly caught with prostitute in bushes has resigned" - QUOTE OF THE STORY: "Narvaez was on duty but not in uniform." Duh! Florida News of the Day
From The Orlando Sentinel: "Fashion police? Florida AG targets edgy L.A. store over 'Xanax' T-shirts" - The Florida AG should go after The Orlando Sentinel for embedding autoplay video stories with annoying commercials into their online stories instead ... or as well ... Video of the Day
Has it really been 10 years today since Warren Zevon died? Sadly, yes.
(1) Debate season is officially kicking in to gear; I know this because the legislative dockets for both varsity and novice chambers for our September 28 PBCFL Congressional were released Wednesday and distributed/discussed in class today. And the first weekend Congressional Debate workshop is this Sunday at Panera Bread.
(3) Memo to Tim Tebow (who I really do like, despite what I'm about to write): WAKE UP ALREADY! Your many accomplishments at the University of Florida were amazing. Yes, you managed to lead Denver to an NFL playoff victory a few years ago. And yes, the New York Jets fucked you over six times over last year. But you apparently couldn't cut it as a backup to Tom Brady in New England, and maybe you need to reconsider your employment future. I realize you really, really want to be an NFL quarterback ... and I respect your dreams ... but unless there's a huge paradigm shift in the league, that ain't gonna happen. Guess what - you aren't any more special than the rest of us in the grand scheme. Stop being so stubborn and realize you may need to make personal adjustments in your career choices. Like Billy Beane said (at the 1:11 mark), adapt or die ...
(4) For the record, I really like Moneyball ... which is really more of a stat geek movie than a baseball movie. Nerd heaven!
(5) Thanks, Peyton Manning. You and your seven goddamn touchdown thrown have totally fucked up my opening week of fantasy football. You couldn't wait until next week?
(4) But hey, it only counts as one game ... and to be honest, it's better than losing by one run in the bottom of the ninth inning. I think.
(5) To continue my currently-free SiriusXM subscription when the three-month trial period runs out or not? That is the question ... well, one of many questions ...
Weird News of the Day
From Houston Press: "ChristianSwingers.com Lets You Get Freaky for Jesus" - Christian Swingers. Perfect for those Christians that want to break commandments, but not all of the commandments. Either that, or it has to do with playground equipment. Sure glad there's no "Jewish Swingers" webpage ... or is there?
(1) Nice job, University of Florida, scheduling "Family Weekend" the same dates (October 25-27) as the Blue Key Speech and Debate Invitational ... which means hotel rooms are at a premium and difficult to find. Doesn't anyone confirm schedules anymore? Seriously ...
(2) Good riddance, Ariel Castro, you worthless cocksucker. Even your closest family would be hard pressed to cry over your committing suicide in your jail cell last night. Enjoy your special place in Hell.
(4) How to spend (part of) my Rosh Hashanah tomorrow: (1) get blood drawn to check on my diabetes stats at 7 am; (2) stop by Manhattan Trophies to assess a new plaque for the debate room (representing the 1,500-point NFL "Degree of Premier Distinction"); (3) get a much-needed haircut at the Oasis Salon & Spa in Lake Worth; and (4) hope the Almighty doesn't smite me for (1), (2), and (3) (and possibly 5+) on Rosh Hashanah ...
(5) First day of in-class Congressional Debate speeches by the novices. Four speeches were presented. One was a throwaway; the other three were solid for first-time speeches - well-organized, sourced, and well defended in cross examination. This is going to be a good year :)
Weird News of the Day
From Dorkly: "Now Presenting: The World's Least Employable Human" - Yes, let's analyze that image to the left. I appreciate creativity, and there's certainly some merit to bringing a unique design and format to capture the attention of potential employers.
I'm not really sure this is the way, though. I mean, if you're looking for a job focusing on "computer science and mathematics," I think a resume incorporating something much more "adult nerdier" would be more effective - you know, a Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, or Monty Python design comes to mind.
(1) For the 7th consecutive year, Wellington Debate is selling a variety of candles through Yankee Candle for the holiday season. This is a wonderful opportunity to not only buy unique candles for your home, but to buy holiday gifts for family, friends, loved ones, and anyone else for whom you feel so inclined. Yankee Candle also offers holiday gift wrapping, home and automobile air fresheners, gourmet pet treats and ornaments, and holiday-themes items as well.
NEW THIS YEAR! ORDERS CAN ALSO BE PLACED ONLINE! Go to http://www.yankeecandlefundraising.com/, and enter our Group Number (990006626) in the appropriate area. Then, start shopping!
This is a limited-time offer. The deadline to place orders for all items is Monday, October 14, in order to have them delivered well in advance of the holidays.
(2) Looooooooong day at the office, culminating with a "new debate coach workshop" from 6:30-9:30 p.m. Looks like the debate league will have a new member out of Pahokee this year (for the first time ever from that school). So exciting!
(3) Another new coaches workshop is next Wednesday, and new debate leaders from South Tech and Spanish River are among those expected to be in attendance. South Tech is a new program, Spanish River a revived one.
(4) Started working on the slave narrative in English today, with a reading and discussion of an excerpt from The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano. If you aren't familiar with his life ... which is, indeed, interesting ... click the link!
(5) Hard to fathom today is a Tuesday, since we were coming off a three-day weekend. With Thursday off due to Rosh Hashanah, it's a short, broken-up week. I'm already off my game, hope it improves!
Holy Toledo! Down in the count 0-1, the Columbus Clippers' Ryan Rohlinger lifted a fly ball to left field. The routine out was made by Toledo Mud Hens left fielder Gustavo Nunez, who threw home to attempt to get Jeremy Hermida at the plate. Catcher Bryan Holaday snagged the throw, dove to apply the tag to Hermida, then ran halfway towards second base as Chin-Hsiu Chen was caught between bases. Second baseman Danny Worth collected Holaday’s throw, then quickly fired to first baseman Jordan Lennerton, who applied the tag on Chen for the third and final out of the game — a 7-2-4-5 triple play. The Mud Hens won 4-1 in their final game at home.
The Muscular Dystrophy Association’s annual Jerry Lewis Labor Day Telethon went on last night. If you blinked, you probably missed it, because it no longer has the name "Jerry Lewis" attached to its existence. Or, for that matter, the connection to "Labor Day."
And at two paltry hours in length, calling it a "telethon" is a disservice, too.
What did air last night from 9-11 p.m. on ABC is called the "MDA Show of Strength Telethon." Let that roll around on your tongue for a moment.
Ummmmm ... show of strength?
TWO HOURS IS NOT A SHOW OF STRENGTH! TWO HOURS IS NOT A TELETHON!
When I was growing up in Bloomfield Hills, watching the Jerry Lewis Labor Day Telethon and its collection of weird, wacky guests and strange stunts (and incredibly emotional sales pitches) was essentially required television, probably because our parents grew up watching Jerry Lewis in the 1950s and early 1960s and passed along his history to us. We knew him more from the telethon that bore his name that he actively fronted and pitched for 20+ straight hours, and watching him in The Nutty Professor (the 1963 original, not the putrid 1996 Eddie Murphy remake). Hell, one year we had a "neighborhood campout" (pitching a tent in the backyard), and ended up watching part of the telethon from inside the house.Telethon > s'mores, sometimes.
Then you had the local Detroit cut-in broadcast, which brought it home to us in an era when there were seven - yes, only seven - TV stations you could watch locally. We didn't even reference the Muscular Dystrophy Association, in part because we couldn't pronounce "Muscular Dystrophy," and in part because it was THE JERRY LEWIS LABOR DAY TELETHON. (We might have even called it a marathon, not telethon ... I'm not sure.) Jerry Lewis WAS the telethon, to the degree that I cannot even follow AP format in this blog and refer to Jerry Lewis by "last name only" after the first reference way back several paragraphs ago.
Not anymore.
Mental Floss published a captivating history of the Jerry Lewis Labor Day Telethon in 2012. "Many of the biggest celebrities in show business have either hosted or appeared on Lewis's telethons over the years, including Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr., and three of the Beatles. (In John Lennon's appearance with wife Yoko Ono, he stated, "Jerry is one of our favorite comedians.") The ultra-reclusive Joe DiMaggio came on to answer the phones one year, and even a U.S. President - Ronald Reagan - made an appearance." But as for the all-time highlight?
[It] was unequivocally the reunion of Jerry Lewis with his former partner Dean Martin in 1976, staged by their mutual friend Frank Sinatra. It was an incredible moment in television history, being Martin and Lewis's first public appearance together in 20 years. The two tearfully hugged, kidded around, and cracked a few one-liners before Martin and Sinatra sang, after which Martin disappeared with a wave and a friendly "Ciao!"
Lewis has always worn his heart on his sleeve regarding his deep affection for his former partner, while Martin was always "Mr. Macho" and rarely displayed any kind of emotion in public. But if you watch the video, you will see Martin quickly sneak in a brief kiss on Lewis's cheek as they hug. (I've always felt this quick kiss was very telling about Martin's real affinity for his erstwhile partner.)
I watched the "telethon" (word used extremely loosely) last night, or part of it. It was depressing, not because of the images of children struggling to survive this horrible disease, but because it carried none of the passion, commitment, or energy Jerry Lewis brought to the stage every year for more than 40 years. Jerry Lewis was fired in 2010, and the "telethon" has been chopped down each of the past three years. The tote board, which captured the continual donation amount (to much applause and fanfare) is gone, too.
Sigh.
I grew up in a world where watching the Jerry Lewis Labor Day Telethon was an obligation. It molded us, in the same way that Captain Kangaroo and Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood shaped our souls. When WBFH-FM held its annual March of Dimes Marathon in the spring, in a small way we, the students who marathoned, modeled what we did after the Jerry Lewis experience, because it was THE telethon to watch. There was a connection, albeit somewhat smaller in stature.
The MDA needs a better show of strength. What they're passing to viewers now is a farce in the truest definition of the word, a far cry from what should be expected.
Jerry Lewis deserves better.
The Fine Five - September 2, 2013
(1) Speaking of Labor Day, former Secretary of Labor Robert Reich - subject of the upcoming documentary Inequality for All - breaks down what it will take for workers to get a fair share in this economy - including big, profitable corporations like McDonald’s and Walmart to pony up and finally pay fair wage. In the video, he announces a petition campaign to pressure McDonald's and Walmart's CEOs to pay their workers a fair wage of $15/hour:
I had no clue Reich was that artistic with a sketch pad, either!
(2) To be blunt, the past month has been miserable for my father's side of the family. As I wrote on August 12, this was the 25th anniversary of my father's passing. Several days before this, my cousin Harriet Drissman died suddenly, just a few weeks before her 73rd birthday. It was quite unexpected. With the bulk of my family living in Detroit, I have been absent physically. I have my sources of information, obviously - family and friends who attended the funeral, the shiva (the mourning period), and are in more regular contact with them. I follow as best I can on Facebook as well.
Of the Drissman clan, I'm closest to my cousin Talya, who got married about a year ago to a wonderful man and who is expecting her first child in January. Her birthday is the the day after mine, we're both huge Detroit Red Wings fans, and while her side of the family and mine have different views politically, I have always found her to be open to different points of view and easy to discuss current events with.
As for those you love, hug them. Call them. Text them. Tell them how you feel. You never ever know what tomorrow will bring.
(3) The post-Mylie Cyrus/Robin Thicke MTV Video Music Awards performance shock waves are still reverberating. Mind you, I'm still trying to figure out why MTV airs this show, since the terms "music' and "video" vaporized from the network eons ago.
Happened upon this commentary this morning which eloquently discusses modern society's shitty taste in music and encourages parents to "talk with their children" about why they listen to what they listen to:
Why do your children listen to knock-offs of Marvin Gaye? Why don’t they just listen to Marvin Gaye? Don’t you have Marvin Gaye records lying around, for crying out loud? Marvin Gaye sang about sex, but in a sexy way. Not in a rapey way.
As a Language Arts teacher, I fully appreciate the author's connection to proper English as well:
Thicke sings "You the hottest bitch in the place." Since this is a blog post about shitty taste in music and not about feminism, I will ignore the fact that this is an incredibly offensive lyric and zero in on the fact that "you the hottest bitch in the place" is just plain ol' incorrect English. Instead of worrying about your children watching scantily clad women being dry humped by men who could be their father, you should be more concerned about your children dropping verbs from their sentences.
One cannot talk smack about Cyrus, Thicke and their ... captivating? ... performance without bringing Cracked Magazine into the fold, discussing the subliminal symbols that were part of her performance. Who knew giant teddy bears meant so much when dealing with the inner psyche?
Finally, there was the extremely creative mind who tied clips from the Star Trek into the fray, with Kirk, Uhura, Chekov, Sulu, etc. dealing with the strange visual and audio presentation permeating the USS Enterprise's system.
Spock's reaction at 1:08 is PRICELESS!
(4) A really good typo is hard to find. This doesn't imply typos, in and of themselves, are difficult to discover; in fact, they exist in every media, from TV captions to newspaper stories to magazine headlines. When I was in my final semester at Central Michigan, and writing a column for CM Life, the school newspaper, my roommate Chris Grindrod and I would scan the paper religiously for errors, such as the Little Caesar's ad regarding "pepperoins" and "green peepers" for your pizza. We'd cut out the offending ad or story, highlight the error, and tape them to our dorm walls. (For the record, I have no clue what a pepperoin or green peeper taste like, since I never ordered them on my 'za.)
My students make plenty of spelling errors. Hell, it's a common element of texting or posting on Facebook or Twitter via cellphones.
But "really good" typos fall into the element of "How the HELL did that one happen?" Misspelled team names on sports uniforms. Errors on large billboards hanging on the backs of mass transit buses. And soda cups at Notre Dame.
The world needed a hero, but how would an editor with no off-switch answer the call? For Jeff Deck, the writing was literally on the wall: "NO TRESSPASSING." In that moment, his greater purpose became clear. Dark hordes of typos had descended upon civilization … and only he could wield the marker to defeat them.
Recruiting his friend Benjamin and other valiant companions, he created the Typo Eradication Advancement League (TEAL). Armed with markers, chalk, and correction fluid, they circumnavigated America, righting the glaring errors displayed in grocery stores, museums, malls, restaurants, mini-golf courses, beaches, and even a national park. Jeff and Benjamin championed the cause of clear communication, blogging about their adventures transforming horor into horror, it’s into its, and coconunut into coconut.
But at the Grand Canyon, they took one correction too far: fixing the bad grammar in a fake Native American watchtower. The government charged them with defacing federal property and summoned them to court - with a typo-ridden complaint that claimed that they had violated "criminal statues." Now the press turned these paragons of punctuation into "grammar vigilantes," airing errors about their errant errand.
The radiant dream of TEAL would not fade, though. Beneath all those misspelled words and mislaid apostrophes, Jeff and Benjamin unearthed deeper dilemmas about education, race, history, and how we communicate. Ultimately their typo-hunting journey tells a larger story not just of proper punctuation but of the power of language and literacy - and the importance of always taking a second look.
Stupid News of the Day
From The Jacksonville Daily News: "Robbery suspect flees, arrested on moped" - The suspect allegedly entered a gas station, demanded a customer’s money, and fled on a moped ... while wearing a ski mask over his helmet. DUDE, SKI MASK GOES UNDER THE HELMET!
The dirty little secret is that much of Congress was content to have no say in this matter. When a letter circulated demanding the president seek lawmakers' authorization, most of the House and Senate didn't sign it - some were willing to let Obama do whatever he chose to do, some didn't want the burden of responsibility. Members spent the week complaining about the president not taking Congress' role seriously enough, confident that their rhetoric was just talk.
It spoke to a larger problem: for far too many lawmakers, it's so much easier to criticize than govern. In recent years, members of Congress have too often decided they're little more than powerful pundits, shouting from the sidelines rather than getting in the game.
It's one of the angles to today's news that's so fascinating - Obama isn't just challenging Congress to play a constructive role in a national security matter, the president is also telling lawmakers to act like adults for a change. They're federal lawmakers in the planet's most powerful government, and maybe now would be a good time to act like grown-ups who are mindful of their duties.
For too long, Congress has been mired in its own personal gridlock hell - a gridlock hell much of its own doing. Something like 40 attempts to overturn Obamacare plays into Einstein's definition of insanity, doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. Now there's a crisis that has been brewing in the Middle East for months - years, really - and Obama is telling the legislative assembly they need to own up and do something constructive.
Honestly, Obama was going to be damned by the Republican Party no matter what he did here. If he chose to do nothing, the GOP would call him out for not being proactive. If he went guns a'blazing, he'd been ripped by Republicans for getting the US involved in another military action overseas and spending money the US doesn't have. By telling Congress to take a stand, he's seen by some as passing the buck. If he bypassed Congress (which is still an option), he ignored the Constitution and having Congressional backing.
(2) Began the tedious of grading 11th grader Personal Origin Myth stories. Still trying to figure out how much to weigh silly things like spelling, punctuation, grammar, and lack of paragraph breaks in minimum-350-word-long papers should count in comparison to the creativity most showed in developing their myths. I swear, some of them could be modern reincarnation of Kafka, which is a pity, because I cannot stand reading Kafka and his four-page-long paragraph style of writing. (There's a few where things like "a clear beginning, middle and end" or "a definitive understanding of how an origin myth is supposed to work" or "it would have been nice if they actually listed to me and read the goddamn assignment correctly" may come into play.)
(3) Having said that, there are some pretty cool creation concepts that have been presented, from how the oceans came to be, to why stars shine, to why Area 51 exists, to the existence of Skittles, to why grass is wet in the morning. (I need a second person to read the Area 51 story, since it includes a character named "Gabaman" ... I mean, talk about brownnose city!)
(4) Oh, those base on balls. I'm looking at you, Detroit Tigers. Getting shut out 4-0 to Cleveland at home, despite 11 hits? That's what walking six batters - including three in the top of the 9th, who all scored on a grand slam - is not going to get it done. Magic Number still at 19.
(5) Cleaned the bathtub today. Did it twice, just to make sure I did a somewhat better than half-ass job. I'm such a domestic god, it's scary!
From The Tampa Bay Times: "Editorial: Governor Phony" - "[Gov. Voldemort] portrays himself as the education governor, the defender of the environment and the advocate for open records. He's the jobs governor, and he has empathy for Floridians without health coverage. Don't be fooled by the packaging. It's a facade that hides reality, and Florida deserves better."
Video of the Day
The best "losing with one second left in the game, we need a miracle play on the kickoff return" footage you'll see all day.
(1) What was learned about my Central Michigan Chippewas football team today during its opening day 59-9 trouncing in Ann Arbor at the hands of the 17th-ranked Michigan Wolverines: nothing. What was confirmed about that same Central Michigan team: its defense is still nonexistent, its new quarterback needs to grow into the position, and it won't be challenging any time soon for a college football championship trophy. That had be a long bus ride back to Mt. Pleasant.
(2) Had an enjoyable lunch at The Cheesecake Factory in Palm Beach Gardens with three fellow debate officers, Dale McCall, Traci Lowe and Kristie Taylor. Nothing like discussing debate league issues with peers and friends over a good meal.
(4) OK, you can go back to worrying about the impending US military presence in Syria. This link is really spiffy and provides a ton of fundamental information on the situation and what is happening (and why). And it even has a cool soundtrack!
From Jezebel: "'Gentleman' Seeks 'Worthy' Woman in Personal Ad With 28-Question FAQ" - I've written on-line personal ads before. And i've answered them before. And basically, I know I'm doing something wrong on both counts. (I mean, I'm still single, right?) But at least I didn't do what this guy did. At least, not consciously. I think he should have listened to Rupert Holmes for advice. Or the Village People. Or both.
Weird News of the Day
From The Anchorage Daily News: "Fox's O'Reilly: I made wrong claim about march" - First, Bill O'Reilly publicly admits he was wrong when he said no Republicans were invited to participate in the MLK ceremony. Then he said the invited GOP members were wrong for not attending. WHO KIDNAPPED BILL O'REILLY, AND WHAT HAVE YOU DONE WITH HIM?
Weird News of the Day #2 (because one is not enough today)
From The Pune Mirror: "Ask the Sexpert - Saturday, August, 31 2013" - Yo, I slept with my neighbor and her daughter while my wife was in another town having our baby. She's coming back in a few days. Your thoughts?
(1) The Wellington Directional Signpost was put together a few days ahead of schedule, thanks to the miracle of quick-drying paint. The silver spray paint was a no-brainer; one side of the 15 signs were painted yesterday, the other side this morning, and they were easily dry by the time the varsity debate class entered the classroom at 2 p.m. Then it was time to grab the small paintbrushes and can of blue paint and add words and mileage information to said signs. In all, 14 destinations were noted, including Philadelphia, Chicago, Fairfax VA, Gainesville, The Bronx, Kansas City, Boston, Orlando, Birmingham, and Duffy's (which isn't a tournament location, but what the heck ... I'm there way too often, and we do monthly fundraiser benefit nights at the Royal Palm Beach location!). The 15th sign was for proclaiming "Welly World" to the masses.
(2) I did learn that double-sided sticky tape does not tend to stick very well to spray-painted plastic signs, so I had to do some creative thinking and staple the sticky tape to the signs, then add a second layer of sticky tape to secure the signs to the metal pole. If only it had been a wooden pole; then I could have secured the signs using a staple gun. THAT would have been fun!
(3) I also learned that spray paint doesn't always stick to cabinet tops. (This is a good thing.) Apparently, some got under the newspapers that were supposed to keep the counters silver-free, but that didn't work as effectively as I'd hoped. But the paint actually wiped up with use of Windex today ... but I did warn the students not to sit on the counter, as they could end up with silver paint on their pants. I'm sure that would not have been a good thing.
(4) Today's English class was an opportunity to wrap up our unit on Native American mythology with a 50-minute presentation of "NMAI: Identity by Design," an online presentation of Native American dresses at the National Museum of the American Indian (part of the Smithsonian). I had the opportunity to visit the museum in 2008 when visiting my friend Tamara Rosov in Washington, D.C., as part of my 20-day, 4,000-mile road trip through the midwest and along the east coast. It was simply amazing, and I am so thrilled the exhibit is now on-line as well. The students were mesmerized by the various dresses, and asked both myself and my co-teacher Tawny Anderson tons of excellent questions about Native American lifestyle, the culture, and how they lived. It was a great way to wrap up the week. (Having a five-minute walkthrough by administration during one of the presentations was an added bonus.)
(5) Next up: working on my "Star Wars Marzano Reading Scale" ... because if I'm gonna have to do this Marzano shit, i may as well have some fun with it!
From CBC: "Paralyzed snowboarder gets go ahead to sue" STEP 1: Sign a waiver. STEP 2: Lie about your age. STEP 3: Consume an energy drink. STEP 4: Take a snowboard for a trial run. STEP 5: Attempt a stunt. STEP 6: Break your neck. STEP 7: Sue the board manufacturer and the ski hill. STEP 8: Get the go-ahead to continue with the lawsuit.
(1) Special thanks to Bobbie Brubaker, Wellington High School art teacher extraordinare, for allowing me to use her Exacto knife and other implements of destruction to create around 16 large plastic arrows, which will be used to create a debate-themed directional pole in the classroom. (There's a pole in the center of the room used for ethernet hookups, and it's just ... sitting [OK, standing] there, looking lonely and forlorn. We creative types can't just let that sit there unattended!)
(2) I started painting the arrows after school today (whoever left the two cans of silver spray paint, thank you!) and will continue tomorrow morning. The debate students will then add their flare to the signs by painting locations of tournaments we will be attending this year (or other major debate tourney locales from past years) - New Haven, Gainesville, Orlando, Fairfax, Philly, Decatur, etc. - as well as the distance to said tournaments. They will be blue-on-silver variations of the old M*A*S*H signs from the late-1960s movie and long-running TV show of the same name. (I am trusting the students to do the actual sign writing ... which is a very scary thought, to be honest!)
(3) To help prepare my debate students for not only upcoming current events that may (and in some cases will) be on the Congressional Debate docket, they have more research due tomorrow, on the following eight umbrella areas: (1) Immigration Reform; (2) Health Care Reform [focusing on the Affordable Care Act/Obamacare]; (3) Education Reform; (4) Space Exploration; (5) The Middle East [Afghanistan, Pakistan, India – I know India isn’t really in the ME, but it has a history with Pakistan]; (6) The Middle East [Iran, Iraq, Egypt, Israel, Palestine]; (7) The Middle East [Syria, Jordan, Turkey]; and (8) The Pacific Rim [Japan, China, North Korea]. Here's to teaching good research skills!
(4) College football officially kicked off (get it? "kicked off"?) tonight, but my season doesn't start until Saturday, when my Central Michigan Chippews travel in-state to Ann Arbor to take on the Michigan Wolverines. Yeah, a MAC-Big Ten matchup. Right now it's a 31-point spread in favor of the Wolverines. This does not bode well. Sigh ... it's going to be a long season ...
(5) If you've not read the amazing piece in Rolling Stone on New England Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez and the plethora of demons and warning signs that were emanating from his very soul and being prior to his arrest on murder charges, do so - even if you're not a sports fan. There are so many questions of ethics and responsibility on multiple levels here. The article is at times scathing toward Patriots coach Bill Belichick, and owner Bob Kraft, the latter of whom contributing editor Paul Solotaroff essentially labels as "guilty by omission" in dealing with the numerous red flags that were raised. This is probably because in early July, Kraft claimed he felt "duped" by Hernandez ... which seems laughable at best now, given the evidence he and other Patriots brass were well aware of the ticking time bomb that was their player.
From Opposing Views: "Fox News Uses MLK Celebration To Attack Rap Music, Jay-Z" - Because apparently those anti-Vietnam War protest songs in the 1960s were never a problem with the right-wing establishment. You know, those lyrical attacks on violence by Woodstockesque musicians like CSNY, Jefferson Airplane, Bob Dylan, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Country Joe & The Fish, Woody Guthrie, Buffalo Springfield, Barry McGuire ...
(1) Today's lecture in the debate class was on the Federal Assault Weapons Ban ... which is only fitting, since it's our legislation for next month's first debate tournament of the year. A number of students were absent, due to it being the first blood drive of the year at Wellington, and they were volunteering their time (and internal fluids) for a greater cause. So I emailed my lecture notes home to all students and parents because I wanted them to have the information I presented.
Because Wellington is supporting a reinstitution of the 1994 FAWB (with a few modifications), my lecture notes were somewhat heavy on the affirmative side. One parent apparently misconstrued this as "Gaba's personal viewpoint":
I see what your opinion is on this issue. Are all students going to write an affirmative or will some be allowed to argue the other side?
Here was my response (with names of the parent and student changed, because in the grand scheme, it was a minor misunderstanding, and the real reason I am posting this is to show my - and many other coach's - position on teaching debate):
What was presented wasn't about my opinion, and to be honest my opinion is irrelevant on any current event topic we cover. I am not, and never have, pushed a personal political agenda in 15 years of coaching and teaching debate.
Wellington's legislation is to reinstitute the FAWB.
Students will be writing "affirmative" arguments on the topic for a grade; they need to be able to present the sponsorship speech at the Sept. 28 debate tournament. However, to ensure we can have viable debate on the topic, they will be afforded the opportunity to write a speech on the negative for extra credit.
The primary reason all Wellington debaters need to be ready on the affirmative side on any legislation we as a program present - whether dealing with immigration reform, creation of a flat tax, funding NASA, whatever - is because it is our sponsorship. Further, let's say your child and three other Wellington students are in the same congress chamber (I'll call them John, George and Ringo), and they as a collective decide that Ringo is going to give the Wellington authorship. And the day of the tournament comes, and Ringo's fighting off a bad stomach bug, and can't make the tournament. Someone (your child, John or George) needs to then give the sponsor speech. They all need to be prepared to do so.
On any other school's topic, when it comes to writing and presenting speeches, each student can choose whatever side they wish on which to speak. Heck, it's possible at another tournament in the future, another school presents a bill dealing with gun control. your child can speak on whichever side he is most comfortable with. No issues here.
Debate isn't about pushing one's own personal views; students need to be able to present the most convincing argument possible on any number of current event issues, regardless of their personal feelings or opinions. Congress is about presenting facts and stats as informatively as possible. They also need to know all possible sides of a topic. If a student goes into a debate with information on only one side of an issue, they are unprepared; they must be able to defend their position with facts and logic against the opposition, and be able to attack the opposition with facts and logic. Thus, they need to know all possible arguments that could come up in a debate on any given topic.
The debate program is designed to teach students these skills, through research, organization, critical thinking, and oral persuasion.
I hope this makes sense, and that your child is enjoying the course so far. I look forward to meeting you at our parent/student meeting next month!
My response was dead-on, and the parent was impressed:
Sorry for the misunderstanding. I was simply looking for clarification as to whether or not both sides of issues will have to be argued. I actually feel arguing opposite your own personal opinion is very good stuff. I think I understand that as a school team we are assigned either a pro or con position and argue with other schools? Therefore the debates are not taking place in the classroom between kids in the same class at Wellington HS. Perhaps you could help me understand these programs and the debating format at the student/parent meeting. Thank you for your response.
I love my job!
(2) No word on how successful said blood drive was yet, but we will be told very soon. I hope it was an amazing day. Wellington still has four more blood drives on campus this year. In the past, they've taken place in what is now my classroom, but apparently when I set up the room last month (and part of this month), I did so in such a way that it is not conducive to the blood drive any more. So it's right down the hallway from where I teach.
(3) Sidebar: during the first 30 minutes of school, three students asked me (which I was on watch in the hallway), "Where is the blood drive taking place?" (I'm pretty sure the large red arrow pointed the way accurately ...)
Sometimes, I am truly amazed at the inability of individuals to be able to ... I don't know ... READ SIGNS that are right there in front of them. In the hallway, about 15 feet from where the photo was taken, was another sign directing individuals in the right direction. Down the hallway the arrow was pointing to was yet ANOTHER sign. The door leading into the blood drive room had a sign on it. SMH ...
(4) Speaking of weapons (going back to the initial commentary), when the class was discussing gun control in general yesterday (we hadn't gotten into the actual FAWB yet), one of the questions came up about teachers with weapons (stemming from the political post-Sandy Hook tragedy in December). I did my best dance around the topic, pointing out (1) I'm not really sure many parents would be thrilled knowing the entire education profession was armed and loaded, (2) I'm not really sure students wanted me to have the ability to draw a weapon when a fight on campus broke out (and there happened to have been a fight on campus the day before), (3) had I been near the fight and someone, while I was attempting to break up the disturbance, managed to take my gun from the holster, then what?, and (4) I have horrid vision and minimal training with a weapon; AM I REALLY THE ONE YOU WANT WITH A GUN ON CAMPUS? They laughed; so did I.
(5) Today I filled up the Prius, for only the second time in the past month. (The Prius received a full tank on July 26, and then on August 14.) Ten gallons. 46 MPG.
Weird News of the Day
From The Wichita Eagle: "'Nebraskan sues Wal-Mart over plastic bag's failure" - Forget the lousy salaries and employee relations, Wal-Mart is so fucking cheap, it apparently won't even buy quality grocery bags these days.
(1) English 3 students started working on their Origin Myth assignments today,. A few had problems devising ideas (despite my attempts to help them with concepts like "How suspenders came to be," "How Snickers bars were created," and "Why Mountain Dew rocks!" A few others had much better progress and success, despite those same suggestions ...
(2) Intense discussion in Debate 1 on whether there should be stricter gun control in the United States. Lots of excellent arguments on both sides of the discussion brought up by the students. Tomorrow we go into more depth on gun control and the Federal Assault Weapons Ban of 1994.
(3) Was invited by Lantana Middle School to speak to their faculty on Thursday, October 10, on the benefits of debate in relation to CCSS, confidence, critical thinking, argumentative writing, etc., as well as the best practices to implement it within the classroom across the curriculum. It should be an amazing day It should be an amazing opportunity to promote debate at the middle school level.
(4) The trivia night questions at Duffy's tonight are lame. REALLY lame. "Which one of the Great Lakes is named after a state?" "Which American rock star's nickname is 'The Boss'?" "How many US senators does Florida have?" "What Beatles album cover shows Paul walking barefoot?" Really? This is the best you can come up with? I mean, I know it's the early questions, and they get harder (sometimes) as you move along, but still ...
The Fine Five - August 26, 2013
(1) Nothing like multiple physical altercations at the end of the lunch period to lead to the first-ever (to the best of my, and many other veteran teachers) "Yellow Alert - this is not a drill" partial lockdowns at Wellington. Apparently, at least five students were involved. The incident is still under investigation; thankfully, no bystanders were injured, and the situation was brought under control quickly.
(2) My novice debater class had its first research assignment due today: five articles (minimum) on gun control. COOL FACTOR: 35 of 38 brought in the assignment (and one of the students was absent, so really only two students in class failed to bring in the first research batch). As I wrote to the parents and students this afternoon, I AM ECSTATIC! THIS IS THE HIGHEST PERCENTAGE OF STUDENTS TO TURN IN THE FIRST RESEARCH ASSIGNMENT ON TIME SINCE I STARTED AT WELLINGTON IN 2002! IT'S GONNA BE A GREAT YEAR!
(3) The second research batch is due Friday; hope these gangbusters like printing out articles from the Internet and killing trees, because they'll be doing a ton of it the next five weeks.
(4) The debate team's airline tickets to Yale are booked - thank you, Traci Lowe!
(5) Hey, you Bloomfield Hills football fans - here's your chance to vote for the Birmingham Groves Falcons vs. Bloomfield Hills BlackHawks football game as your "7 On The Sidelines" Meijer Game of the Week! This is the first-ever game for the BlackHawks - MAKE IT COUNT!
Sad News of the DayFrom Boing Boing: "Volkwagen Microbus to end production" - Oh, the stories WBFH-FM station manager and Fundamentals of Radio Broadcasting teacher Pete Bowers could tell about his baby blue Microbus, and the trips we took to Mt. Pleasant and Ovid-Elsie and Lansing and other hot high school radio station locations across the Great Lakes State while I was a student at the now-closed Bloomfield Hills Lahser High School. Auf Wiedersehen, Microbus.
Wonder what Arlo Guthrie is thinking ... Weird News of the Day
From Aero News Network: "From Parrots To Glass Eyes - Skyscanner Reveals Items Left On Planes" - I bet you didn't even know an information source called Aero News Network even existed. Stupid News of the Day
From NPR: "Did Miley Cyrus 'Flirt With Bad Taste' Or Dive Right In?" - I didn't watch the VMAs. Instead, I followed Facebook and Twitter posters with the kind of pathetic amusement that comes with driving by a train wreck. Apparently the N*SYNC reunion - all 30 seconds of their performance - made women sterile or something. Pathetic. Boys, feh. Real men last much longer. Florida News of the Day
From NWF Daily News: "'Man accused of exposing himself at convenience store" - How convieeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeenient. Video of the Day
Steve + Kermit = Gold!
The Fine Five - August 25, 2013
(1) Worked on the English 3 class assignment for Monday, where students will write their own Native American origin myth assignment. I'm interested in seeing what kind of creative writing pops up from the project. Hopefully it includes proper use of grammar and correct spelling.
(2) I am now a proud member of the "Alan Trammell and Lou Whittaker Appreciation Society" on Facebook, a page dedicated to lobby for the deserved recognition of the greatest Major League Baseball double play tandem in history, a pair that have basically been ignored by the Baseball Writers Association of America and by the Detroit Tigers ownership/management. THE TWO BELONG IN THE HALL OF FAME, DAMNIT!
(3) Came across this amazing column on The Huffington Post today called "Maybe You Get Bad Customer Service Because You're a Bad Customer" - a commentary that hit the nail squarely on the head in terms of customer rudeness that can be summed up nicely with this excerpt:
[The irate customer] asked: "Why can't I ever f*cking get good customer service?" Well, ma'am, that might have something to do with you being a vulgar, miserable, malicious person. Maybe you get bad customer service because you're a bad customer. Did you ever consider that possibility?
(4) Check out the slideshow at the end of the above column when you have a chance - some amazing responses to horrible customer service ... because while some customers are bad customers, some businesses are even worse at customer service!
(5) Six days until Central Michigan's football team takes on the mighty Michigan Wolverines. I hope the Chippewas keep it respectable ... oh, hell, I HOPE THEY BEAT THE SHIT OUT OF THE WOLVERINES! (But hey, at least Sports Illustrated has them projected not to have a losing record this year, and to finish above Western Michigan and Eastern Michigan in the battle of Michigan directional schools ...) Weird News of the Day
From io9: "This abandoned underwater strip club still has shiny dancing poles" - Kip Addotta's "Wet Dream" come to life. Sadly, no sign of Ariel or Madison ...
Stupid News of the Day
From USA Today: "Why does Rex Ryan still have a job?" - When the Jets needed a proven quarterback guru to develop Sanchez, Ryan traded for Tebow, the NFL's traveling circus, to mess with Sanchez's head, and brought in Sparano, the wildcat wonder, as the offensive coordinator. Sparano did the impossible: He made both quarterbacks worse. Florida News of the Day
From The Orlando Sentinel: "'Trio accused of using technology to deal their stolen goodies" - Florida, home of the most stupid people in the world. Video of the Day
The King is 59 today. happy birthday, Elvis!
The Fine Five - August 24, 2013
(1) My new Sunpass arrived in the mail today. Apparently, the powers that be are teamed up with the NSA and Facebook, because I was notified by email right after my online comments about needing to replace the batteries in my old transponder that it was time to swap and upgrade. I received a free replacement, and the old one is now in the trash.
(2) I've suspected for the past few days that my eyeglass subscription is no longer accurate. Of course, the lenses in my "regular" wireless frames are about five years old. (The frames themselves are two years old, bought on-line to replace the original ones that broke in 2011.) Until I get the resources (also known as "money") to buy a legit new pair of progressives, I'm putting them in the "backup" case in the Prius, and wearing the "newer" backup progressives I bought two years ago ... which are paying dividends already. The only real negative of the updated eyewear is that they are not transition lenses, so they don't darken in sunlight. But they are more accurate, which makes things like reading and seeing in general a bit better ... so I have that going for me ... which is nice ...
(3) I got Marvin on my mind ... the dude was a musical legend and had a pipes that could rock for days.
(4) Spent three hours at the Wellington Barnes & Noble walking first-year debate coach (and former Boynton Beach High School debater) Amanda Brahlik through some of the fundamental paperwork and Congressional Debate information she will need for a new debate program. (Yes, she's starting a program from scratch, and has 10-12 interested students already at Potentia Academy.) She's even gotten started with The Joy of Tournaments! She'll do great!
(5) The Detroit Tigers beat the New York Mets 3-0. Starting pitcher Max Scherzer is now 19-1. Let me say that slowly: NINETEEN-AND-ONE! I'm not sure who is having the more impressive, MVP-type season, him or Miguel Cabrera. Weird News of the Day
From The London Mirror: "Scanners are peeled! Knight Rider fan spends three years building exact replica of car KITT" - David Hasselhoff not included. or needed, apparently. Stupid News of the Day
From The Seattle Times: "Lawsuit claims Puyallup police held inmate “peepshow”" - If true ... not cool. Very not cool. Florida News of the Day
From South Florida Sun-Sentinel: "'Giant banana spiders are hanging out in a tree near you" - Apparently, there are different seasons in The Sunshine State after all - Hurricane Season, Old Folks Who Are Shitty Drivers Season, College football Season, and Big-Ass, Scary-As-Fucking-Hell Banana Spider Season. Video of the Day
Have 91 minutes to kill? Then enjoy this episode from Season 9 of MST3K, "Hobgoblins" ... yeah, it's a ripoff of Gremlins, but unlike Gremlins, this has the misfortune to be REALLY, REALLY BAD.
