"Now is the time of collection
Now is the season undone
Now is the winter of my discontent
Made glorious summer
By your sun "

Jeffrey Foucault--Sunrise in the Rearview

I know I have written about this guy like twenty times, but he's really good. I was listening to him tonight, and this verse really got me....it's amazing when you know someone who can do this for you. Someone who--regardless of what all is going on around you--can make it all seem ok.

I gotta be honest...I thank God every day for Bibi...she is my summer sun.

Thank you Bibi.

Thanks for stopping by...

Tommy

It's beginning to look...well, you know.

Greetings loyal readers...

I apologize, once again for the delay in my posting. It's been a while. First...the update.

In the last week we got ready for Thanksgiving and the kids were very good. Nothing of note there.

Bibi and I went to Kansas City for the holiday, and had a fantastic time. Hung out with her family, most of my family, were able to relax a great deal, and just had an unbelievably restful time.

Saw an interesting movie about quantum physics..."What the (Bleep!) Do We Know?". Put forth some very interesting questions that Q.P's brings to mind. Had some really interesting discussions throughout the film as well. Not for everyone, but interesting, none the less.

I finished "Go Down, Moses" a few days ago. Wow. Really a phenomenal book...very thought provoking and worthwhile read. I appreciated the help of Spark's Notes in getting my started, but enjoyed even more the ability to break free from that tool. (Remember kids, there's nothin' wrong with using Spark's or Cliff's notes as an aid, but the really don't act as a substitution for the real thing!!!)

My in-laws gave me Pudd'nhead Wilson as a present for a Sikh holiday, and I've already finished it. Gotta love Mark Twain's willingness to throw human weaknesses in our faces, you know? (c;
So, know a couple of thoughts...I don't feel like it's Christmas "time" yet. Not at all. In fact, I usually spend the Sunday after Thanksgiving decorating, listening to Christmas tunes, and eating sugar cookies and hot cocoa. I honestly didn't feel like it was really Thanksgiving yet, and I can't help but feel that it's not Christmas-time yet. I've only listened to a couple of Christmas songs, and that was somewhat half-hearted....I'm just not ready for it yet. Anyone else feel the same?

And, finally a question.

Is education a "science" or is education an "art"?

What do you all think?

Thanks for stopping by...and I promise to blog sooner than I did this time...

Tommy

This Week in Books...

All right, all right...apparently my lapse in posting has made at least one of you irate enough to post a reponse. So....here ya go.

So, the election. Were you pleased? I have to say....it was interesting. In cruising around the blogosphere I noticed something, specifically relating to the amendment issue in Missouri. (For stem cell research.) Those people against the initiative were shocked and horrified by the fact that it passed. I believe the quote was, "what is America coming to?!" The people who were FOR the initiative were shocked and horrified by the fact that it was so close to NOT passing. And, in all honesty, the fact that there seemed to be some over-riding misconception about the passing of this bill was disconcerting as well. And, I believe the exact quote was, "What is America coming to?!"

I am hoping that things improve. I hope that Democrats can take the ball and run with it...in a positive direction. I hope that Robert Gates, Rumsfeld's replacement can make heads or tails of this snafu in Iraq. I hope that we can bring our troops safely and leave Iraq with some semblance of order and a future that is brighter than the present. I hope that Democrats don't become drunk with power and totally screw things up Matt Foley-style.

Anywho. On the literary front, I've got a few recommendations. I don't remember if I blogged about Things in Ditches, (I'm too lazy to look back and find out) but it's worth mentioning twice if I did. It's by Jimmy Olsen, and it's fantastic.

Most recently I read The Road by Cormac Mccarthy. It's what The Stand (Stephen King) would have been had Hemingway written it and it had been ordained by God. AMAZING. Wow. I don't want to say anything more but...wow. It is A-MAZING. Ok. That's all.

And, finally, now I'm reading Go Down, Moses, by William Faulkner. I have to say, it's the first time I've ever used Sparks Notes online to help me understand a damn book, and it's been VERY helpful, so far.

Ok. And, finally, the 2008 presidential campaign has officially begun. For those of you who haven't heard, Tom Vilsack of Iowa and Rudi Guiliani have both thrown their proverbial hats into the ring. So....who is going to make it to the heated campaigning and who is going to go down in a fury of flames and controversy?

All right....you all have an unbelievably great night...and we'll talk soon.
Thanks for stopping by...

Tommy

Get your @ss out there and VOTE!!!!

I gotta say...I know that I am lucky...I am fully aware. I don't think that I need anyone to point that out. However, today was just one more piece...and, it fit.

I've been excited about this election for weeks. The electoral process really pumps me up...even with it's numerous flaws. Anyway. When I got up this morning I left even earlier so that I could vote before school. I felt such a feeling of awe leaving the polling place, as I realized that I was standing on the shoulders of giants, participating in this....privilege...this wonderful right....this responsibility. So, it was awesome when Bibi called me at school and told me that she was really bothered by the fact that she hadn't gotten her absentee ballot, nor had she registered here in Kville. So, she was driving to KC in order to be able to exercise her right. How amazing is my wife? There are people who can't even drive across town...heck, even some who won't cross the street to vote...won't bother to look up the issues, find out about the ballot measures or who is running. Not my wife....she'll drive three hours one in order to vote. (I love my wife!!!)

Thanks for reading....

Tommy

Adagio for Strings

Warning: This post contains adult situations and descriptions...viewer discretion is advised.

This morning, as I was walking Leo, listening to my iPod, I had a very...hmm....how to describe it.....captivating experience.

One of the podcasts I was listening to was describing the importance of Samuel Barber's Adagio for Strings. (If, for some reason, you are unfamiliar with it, please...do yourself a favor, and go listen to it....you shant be dissappointed.) Anway, at one point the commentators stopped discussing the piece in order to let the true musical meaning come out. At just that point, I came upon an elderly couple out in front of a fraternity house. What struck me was the vividness of their blue hats. These shockingly bright blue hats perched upon knotted, dirty grey hair. Their wrinkled faces deeply involved in their tasks. The dirty sweatshirts they wore under their blackened coats were tattered and stained. They wore matching black rubber orthopedic shoes and there was a gap of exposed skin between their too-small sweatpants and the tops of their shoes. They barely looked up at me as I walked by them, they were too intent as they looked through the dumpster, digging with bare hands through empty bottles, used condoms and last weeks discarded pizza boxes.

What struck me though, was the smile on the woman's face as I said hello. She looked at me, and her lips parted showing her toothless gums and her face lit up. The man, white facial hair patchy at best simply nodded....a minimum of a grin all that he allowed. As I passed they both went back to the task at hand.

All of this took no more than 45 seconds, and all the while Barber's Adagio lingered in my ears. I'm going to close this post with a line from a Johnny Cash song...it seems sadly appropriate now:

"And there's nothin' short of dyin'
That's half as lonesome as the sound
Of a sleepin' city sidewalk
And Sunday mornin' comin' down"

Carry on my brother.
Carry on.

Tommy

dog days....

Hey, what's going on?

The end of the week went well. School was good, and we had our Native American Day festivities yesterday. My job is to do soap carving with my half of the fifth graders. (And, for those of you who have witnessed my natural artistic abilities, we're all thinking the same thing: Those poor kids!!!)

Last night Bibi has some friends in from out of town, and we went out for dinner. That was good. Had the duck...always a tasty treat.

However, when we got home, I took Leo out, and he threw up twice. Thought maybe he was just excited by having so many people over. Well, in the next two hours he threw up around 25 times. So, needless to say, we called the vet and asked what we should do. (Our worst fear, distemper, which results in death to about half the dogs that get it, was ruled out, as it's usually accommpanied by other significant problems. The vet told us that most likely he swallowed something that wasn't going to all the way through, and he was trying to get it back up. Well, we watched him through the night, he continued to retch til about 2:30ish, and then he slept through the night. We fed him a little bit this morning, and he hasn't been sick since last night. So, we think we're through the thick of it. Whooh. Glad that appears to be over with, let me tell you.

Well, hope everyone is enjoying their weekend.

Hey, who is going to vote this Tuesday?

Tommy

A question....

A question for you on this Thursday morning. You know, something to start the day. I was listening to NPR this morning, and one of the commentators who I really enjoy listening to, made the statement: "The Educational System is broken."

Now, I know that the last time I tried to discuss something educational, it was a fire storm. At the risk of opening up that, again, I'm curious. Do you think the educational system in America....is broken?

Your thoughts?

Tommy

A quick recap...

So, dear readers, I apologize for the hiatus. Things are afoot, as they say.

So, just a couple of thoughts....

I recently read a great mystery by a Minnesota author, Jimmy Olsen. It's called, "Things in Ditches." I don't want to give too much away, but WOW. Great book....the whole time I found that I was rooting for both the murderer, and the cop trying to knab him. The last three chapters? Blew. Me. Away.

I'm know reading the second book in the Aaron Tucker mystery series. The first book is called, "For Whom the Minivan Rolls," and I'm now reading, "A Farewell to Legs". Good stuff. The main character is a freelance writer who inadvertantly becomes a detective. Imagine, Dave Barry meets Columbo. The best part of the book, after Tucker's great sense of humor, is his family. (His wife is amazing, and the way they communicate is fantastic; and, his son has Asperger's Syndrome....it's a neat thing to see that as a natural part of the story.)

All right. And, as promised, I wanted to let you all know my thoughts on the issue of same-sex classes. (If you haven't read the article....well, you should.)

There have been quite a few studies that show that putting boys in a class full of boys, and girls in a class with all girls, can be very beneficial. Most of the studies are anecdotal, but the results are very interesting. (Great things are happening in some inner-city schools.)

Well, Lost is on shortly, so I think I'm out of here.

Have a great night....and, well, I"ll talk to you all later!

Tommy

Wow.

I can't say anything....but, I just had something work related happen. (Yeah, for those of you who think teachers are done with work at 3? It is now 8:00pm. So, there.)

Something good.

Something that I can take a fair amount of credit for....and, it makes me VERY, very happy.

(c;

Thank you ALL for reading...and, man...I hope you all's evening go HALF as well as mine is going.

WOW.

(c;

Tommy

I say tomato, you say tomahto...

So, in the news today, we see that there are new regulations in the countries laws regarding same-sex education. At the risk of opening up a whole new can of worms, I thought I'd get everyone's opinion on that deal. What do you all think? Is same-sex education another piece of the puzzle toward educational advancement, or is it a throw back to the Brown vs. the Board of Education debates of the 50's? Is this necessarily discrimination, or is this acknowledging the possibility that boys and girls actually are different?

What do you all think?

(I'll share my view in a couple of days...)

Oh, and apparently boys are wearing their pants in a "sagging" fashion. This is news? ABC news is covering it tonight, as I type. People have been wearing their pants thusly since I was a freshman in high school!!! Argh!

All right, leave your thoughts on the gender education issue, if you would....

Thanks!

Tommy

I can be your hero baby...

So, I feel like there is a lot I want to blog about, but I don't know where to begin.

On the political front, I do enjoy a good debate. As for Obama? Well, the whole cliche' arguement about Democrat's perpetuating a welfare state seems somewhat lackluster during an administration which has done nothing to change our welfare system because it is too busy trying desperately to convince an increasingly large number of people that what we're doing in Iraq is the right thing, when all evidence would point to the contrary. (I will point out that I do think it was a good thing to depose Saddam Hussein--good as in right, or moral.) However, it has become increasingly obvious that Bush is unable--or unwilling--to acknowledge his own mistakes. And, what is worse in my opinion, Bush seems unwilling, or again unable, to acknowledge that times change. What may have worked two years ago is not necessarily going to work now. He seems to think that any change of course will play into the hands of "the enemy", and that means that we are stuck on this ridiculous path that seems to have no successful conclusion whatsoever.

Now, does Obama have the solution? I wouldn't be the right person to ask. However, according to Obama this morning on Meet the Press, Iraq is a situation with either a bad solution or a worse solution. In other words, this will not end well. So we need to be able to assess the situation realistically and to reflect on whether or not what we're doing now is leading us down that path. In all honesty, I don't see in Bush the level of character needed in order to tackle that kind of contemplation.

In other news, it flurried today, here in Kirksville, MO. I love fall, I love winter, and I love spring and summer. I love all four seasons. As my friend Aaron said to me this weekend, "Purgatory is not having four seasons." I like that.

Oh, and for those of you in the mood for a good movie, check out "In America". It's about an Irish family that moves to New York. Fan-freakin'-tastic movie.

All right. Well, enjoy the last few days of October.

And remember if you're trying to impress someone this week...it's a "dog eat dog" world, not a doggie-dog world.

Thanks for reading...

Tommy

Laugh Your Cares Away....

This is by far the greatest news out of California in YEARS.

Read this article:http://www.cnn.com/2006/SHOWBIZ/Movies/10/20/film.fraggle.reut/index.html


It is GOOD.

(c;

Tommy

Greetings, beloved Readers....

Hello, and welcome to another post by....well, me.

Things have been well, since last we spoke at length.

I believe it was almost a week and a half ago, right?

Well, last week went well. Friday night Bibi was working on her capstone, so I went to a concert at a local establishment, and a good time was had by all. Some very dear friends mocked my reticence at admitting I was no longer a Republican. (As my favorite teacher from high school said, I was a republican in the original sense of the word, as in...a fan of the "republic".)

Saturday Bibi and I hung out, watched a movie, etc. Sunday, I got up and read, relaxed, and over all enjoyed the day.

This week has been good. It's funny...Parent Teacher Conference time always looms over my head as some frightening inevitability, and as always, goes unbelievably well. Had a great time, got to know my students, via their parents, a lot better. And, that's a good thing.

I'm sitting here in my house, in my gorgeous rocking chair (thanks, Gary!!!!) watching Leo sit on another chair (no, Mom, Leo's not allowed on the rocking chair!) chewing on his bone. He's a good pup. Bibi is in class right now, and I'm looking forward to the long weekend--we don't have school tomorrow b/c of the long day today. So, that's cool.

So, I'd love to keep the discussion from last time going...but, instead of knocking other people's candidates, how 'bout we just brag on our own candidates? I'd love it if our political discussions were smear free, you know?

Anyhow, I'm going to close with a quote from one of my favorite movies:

And, so life goes.
And so love goes.
And, so I go.

Carry on my brother. Carry on.

Hi everybody!!!!

Apparently, I failed window proofing day of kindergarden.

So, just a quick few updates:

1.) Election day is coming...get registered!!!!

2.) In the spirit of democracy, I wanted to let you all know about this great website about stem cell research...whatever your view, it's always better to be informed. (Thanks JNo!!!) http://stemcells.nih.gov/info/basics/basics1.asp

3.) Life is good.

So....here's your question....who do you like for president in 2008?

(c;

Tommy

Technical Question...

How do you all like the links I've had in my posts lately? Helpful? Or annoying?

--Tommy

FYI

I know that many of you are familiar with Asperger's Syndrome, which is a condition on the Autism scale. I wanted to make you all aware of something cool that will happen next Monday. NPR's wonderful program, "This I Believe" will feature an essay by a child/teen with Asperger's Syndrome. You can hear the essay on your local NPR affiliate Monday during the morning program and sometime during All Things Considered, or you can read the essay, which will be posted Monday at www.npr.org.

I thought it was pretty cool, and I wanted to share that with you all.

Also, today we had our monthly staff meeting. The meeting was about a new reading program that we will be adding next year (in addition to the one we added this year) but we also talked about something a little more noteworthy. In response to the AK47 incident in Joplin, MO, we reviewed the Kirksville School's intruder program. So, that was interesting. Safety first, and all.

And, finally, for those of you living under a rock, Kim "I'm a complete lunatic" Jung Il of North Korea threatened to fire a nuclear missle. As of this writing, it seems that Il may be compensating for an apparent problem with premature....um, firing, as we know suspect that the tests on Monday may have actually gone horribly awry.

We can only hope.

So, until next time....as long as there IS a next time....

Thanks for stopping by....

Tommy

It would seem that I'm not alone...

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2006/10/08/ING0FLHNM21.DTL

That is all. Oh, and Michelle, yes, I'm quite familiar with www.bookcrossing.com. I love that website....it's great!

And now, back to your regularly scheduled evening/morning.

Thanks for stopping by.

Tommy

Throw the book at 'em!!!

I know I've had kind of an unintentional them going here with educational posts, but, well, when it rains, it pours.

This just in, filed under "I" for irony....

Dateline: Texas. (I think I told some people it was Florida...oops!)

Last week, during National "Banned Book Week", a parent filed a complaint on the behalf of his sophomore daughter. He objected to one of the books that her class was reading. Now, two things:

1) His daughter had opted to read something else, and was not being penalized for this choice.
2.) The book in question was "Fahrenheit 451," written by Ray Bradbury, about the perils of a society that bans books. Hmm....maybe he should have read it first.....

So, of course the fact that his daughter wasn't being forced to read the book meant that the problem was solved, right? Well, since you're reading about it here....guess again. The book was removed, entirely, from the high school library. So much for personal choice, right? Right?!

Ugh.

Here's the link....http://www.hcnonline.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=17270600&BRD=1574&PAG=461&dept_id=532215&rfi=6

That's all I got. Oh, and an addendum to my earlier post about Studio 60's similarity to Sports Night. My anonymous poster was right....it's not as good as Sports Night. It never will be, because Sports Night was as close to television perfection as televions will ever again be. However, not watching a show because it isn't as good as Sports Night would mean not watching any televsion at all. So, instead of isolating myself from that medium, I'm going to accept the fact that no amount of hope, prayer, and angry letters threatening boycott to "the powers that be" will bring back the show, and I"m going to watch my DVD's as much as possible, and then? I'm going to watch Studio 60 because regardless of the show...Aaron Sorkin is the finest writer of televsion today.

So, there ya go.

Thanks for stopping by!!!

Tommy

If you're driving out to the stadium this weekend....don't forget to take your car.

For those of you Sports Night fans....apparently, it's back. It's changed it's name to Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, and instead of a sports show, it's a sketch comedy show (ala' Saturday Night Live) but, well, it's Sports Night. So, you know...that's cool. (c;

Tommy

this just in....

For those of you who didn't watch/read the news today, sad, sad news out of Pennsylvania. What a shame....what a damn shame.

Oh, and Brad sent me a link that really fit in nicely with our discussion of trade schools and vocational training...so, here it is: http://www.thenewatlantis.com/archive/13/crawford.htm

I found it interesting, and the timing fit in well.

I'll write more later, but I just wanted to let people know about these things.

Thanks for stopping by...

Tommy