I ain't no fortunate son...

I believe I've mentioned my music project with my class before, and I wanted to update you all on something pretty cool that happened last week.

Last week my song was Fortunate Son, by Creedence Clearwater Revival, and the kids were really enjoying it. (They've enjoyed the music a whole lot more now that we're (mostly) done with classical music, but that's ok...:) ) Anyway, in Social Studies we were finishing up the beginning unit on the Civil War. We were talking about all of the events leading up to the Civil War, the strengths and weaknesses of both sides during the war, and the attitudes and behaviors of both the south and the north during the Civil War. One of the issues we addressed was the fact that civilians in both the south and the north were able to evade the draft by either owning a certain number of slaves, or by buying your way out of the war. We discussed whether or not this was fair, what it meant to the poor and underprivileged, etc. Well, in a flash, like a...uh, (ahem) surge, it hit me...the song fit perfectly with this aspect of American History. I printed off the lyrics to the song, had my class read them as I played the song, and watched as they began to make the connection between the song and our discussions of the Civil War. Some kids asked if the song was written about the Civil War. I explained the connection to the Viet Nam war, and the correlation between the song, and both wars. Then, to culminate that particular part of the class, I sat back and reveled in what I was seeing...20 ten, eleven, and twelve year olds singing along with CCR and really getting it. It was truly something special.

Oh, and for those of you who don't know, I allow my students to get my attention when I'm unable to attend to them by saying "O Captain, My Captain". One of my students had checked out a book on Civil War poetry and songs. She found the Whitman poem (O, Captain! My Captain!) about Lincoln, and excitedly showed it to me, as if I didn't already know about it. I read the poem to the class, we discussed what it meant, and for the first time, my students smiled just a bit deeper when proclaiming, O Captain, My Captain!

It's been a good couple of days in class, to say the least.

Anyway, I've been working on my playlist of songs for "Music Time". I know I asked for suggestions before, but...any new ones?

And, as always, thanks for stopping by...

Tommy

April is the cruelest month...

Sad news from the literary world. David Halberstam, one of my all-time favorite authors was killed today in a car accident.

When I was a sophomore in college, I was given the opportunity to have dinner with this remarkable man, along with a number of other students. I was able to sit at his table and talk with him about his many books, his illustrious career, and his time as an embedded journalist during the Viet Nam War. I left that meeting with a profound appreciation for his work, and I have enjoyed absolutely every book I have read by him.

If you haven't read any of his work, I highly recommend you give it a try.

To David Halberstam: a man with class, a humanitarian, and a great author; you will be missed.

Thanks for stopping by....

Tommy

Strangers in the Night...

A funny thing happened tonight...

A VERY funny comedian, by the name of Zack Galifianakis was performing at Truman. I used to watch his show when I was in college all the time, and my old roommate Brad was a HUGE fan. However, both Bibi and I felt totally wiped out by the week/weekend, and we were unable to get tickets to see him. I was kinda bummed by it, but at the same time, knew that we both needed a quiet night in.

So, around 9 we were walking Leo on our usual route, when my shoulder started hurting; I asked Bibi if it would be ok if we cut out the last leg of the walk so that we could get home. She, of course, said yes, and we turned to head back home. As we were passing the Truman faculty parking lot, I glanced to my left, and saw a very bearded man, dragging wheeled luggage behind him. I paused, and without thinking said, "Are you Zack Galifianakis?"

It was!

I asked if he minded if I introduced myself. He said sure. We walked over and I introduced myself and we kind of chatted a bit. He asked what brought me to Kirksville, and I said that I was a teacher here. I admitted that, while being a huge fan, I hadn't been able to see the show, and then asked how was it. He said it was pretty good, but, you know, these college audiences, some of the material just goes over their heads. But, as long as you curse a lot, they love you. (c;

He then asked for directions to a good restaurant, and I told him how to get to Il Spazio. We then finished walking Leo and came home.

So, that's how I met Zack Galifianakis.

More later...!

Thanks for stopping by...

Tommy

Insert catchy title here.

Anybody know any songs about fathers? I like to title my posts with song titles, and I couldn't think of anything for this one.

Disclaimer: Rambling post about a lot of different topics, and containing a lot of gushy emotional stuff. Be warned.

You ever had one of those days, when things aren't all that great...I mean, don't get me wrong, they're far from bad, but it's just not THAT grea? And, then...outta nowhere, you have a glimpse of how blessed you REALLY are? I was sitting in my classroom today while my students were working on their assignment, thinking about the massive weight of things that have been kind of slowly creeping on top of me, and I thought about coming home tonight, and it hit me like a ton of bricks, (way more quickly and powerfully than that "woe" nonsense), how unbelievably happy I was that I got to GET to come home to this wonderful woman, this partner of mine. I honestly almost started crying at my desk I couldn't wait to come home to see my Bibi. It's a good thing, no? It brought to mind the lyrics from one of my favorite singers, one who I've already posted here back in November.

"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

Anyway.

Onward to other topics.

So, I've been thinking about fatherhood a lot lately. (Imagine that.) I was thinking back to a couple of years ago when I was visiting Kansas City and I was hanging out with a friend of mine who had recently become a father. He was a friend of mine from my freshman and sophomore year, who was the epitome of that goofy and great friend that I imagine everyone has freshman year of college...he was just this funny, cool, mildly wild (is that possible?) guy who was liked by everyone, but was in no way remotely "adult", you know? And, I remember VERY clearly watching him with his son...watching him change his son's diaper, play with him, relate to him...it was one of the most amazing things I've seen in some time. I mean, it really stuck with me. I can't wait to be that guy...to change diapers....to play with my child, to be....a dad. I. Can't. Wait.

And, speaking of that....I've been thinking about family, and parenthood, and such....and, it's been a whirlwind of thoughts....

For those of you who know me, who've read the earlier posts on this blog, etc, you know that I've kind of been stuck in this rebelliousness about family for sometime. I think everyone goes through it to some extent or another at some point in their life, but I think maybe my phase was a bit on the long side. Anyway...in this mindset I was pretty critical of my parents, of my childhood, of how I was raised, about family in general. It was a very strange thing, and it led to me having some pretty strong opinions about how I wanted to raise my kids. I read a really good book a couple of weeks ago called, "Fathering Right from the Start" about being a dad, and it really struck me. This is what I learned/realized.

I want nothing more than to be the kind of parent my mom, dad, and step-dad were. They parented with nothing but the purest intentions and motivations, and with nothing but love as the core of their decisions. They loved me, and my sisters, with all of their hearts and all of their minds and souls, and they wanted nothing more than the absolute best for us. And, my faithful readers, that is the kind of dad I want to be.

All right...those are just some thoughts I've had...feel free to comment. (I love getting comments.)

Tommy

Our House, in the middle of the street

Yep. We gotta house. We signed a one year lease, we get the keys next time we're in KC, and we're really excited about it. Bibi loves the three bedrooms, I love the garage, and Leo is going to LOVE the HUGE fenced-in backyard.

And baby? Well, baby's gonna love having a home all to ourselves. Baby's also gonna love the quiet residential neighborhood, the well huge shade trees, and the fact that we're not gonna have to live out of a cardboard box. (c;

Oh, and our midwife's appointment on Saturday was awesome. Everything is going along swimmingly, and as of right now the baby is entirely viable. (Which, you know, is a good thing.) We've been feeling our little one kick a LOT lately, and last night we could feel the babies legs/arms gliding under Bibi's belly. (say that three times fast: Bibi's belly, Bibi's belly, Bibi's belly. It's even hard to type fast!!!) And, let me tell you, there are few things in life MORE surreal than feeling a baby move under the momma's skin. Sheesh.

I know, I know, it's been almost, what, a fortnight since my last post? Much has happened. And, well, I don't even know where to start. So, I'll leave it up to you...

got any questions ya'll are wondering about?


Thanks for stopping by!

Tommy

Baby baby...

So, in reviewing my post from the other day, I realized that I kind of left something MASSIVE off the update. It's stupid, and I feel stupid for having done so.

Bibi is now 27 weeks. (For those of you guys out there, that's roughly 6 months along.) The baby is kicking up a storm now, and wakes Bibi a couple nights a week in her sleep. And, the weirdest part? You can actually SEE the damn thing from the outside. Yeah, that's right...it's wiggling around in there so much that you can see, with your eyes, little mounds moving around. It actually keeps reminding me of two VERY different movies.
1.) Alien, when the guy's really sick and then all of a sudden out pops the little angry alien creature spitting mad? Yeah, I keep thinkin' that's gonna happen, and it makes me very nervous.
2.) Spaceballs, the scene where the guy in the diner gets really sick and out pops the creepy little alien creature who starts singing and dancing, "hello my baby, hello my darlin', hello my ragtime girrrrrrrl...", and it makes me very, VERY happy. ( I loved Spaceballs, what can I say!)

So, yeah, the baby is coming along fine, and we're both VERY excited.

This weekend two very good friends came into town unexpectedly, and it was a wonderful surprise. John, Becki, we had a great time Saturday night and lunch was fun, too. Bibi loved getting to meet you, and we'd love to hang out again. (You know, the next time you guys are in Missouri, or we're in Indiana. (c:)

Tonight, Bibi and I had just a wonderful time after our respective jobs were done. We both came home, realized that we were hungry, didn't really want to cook, and also really, really wanted to spend some time outside because it was so nice. So, we packed a pic-a-nic and walked to a grassy knoll near our house. We took some veggie burgers, chips and dip and some grapes and a blanket, and our awesome dog, Leo. We spread out the blanket, got Leo's bone, and sat down. I was a bit nervous about having Leo on our blanket with us, but, it was so cool...Leo sat there, and didn't even TRY to get our food while we enjoyed a lovely picnic in the sun. It was simply wonderful.

And, that reminds me, what are you all looking forward to with the dawing of Spring? (And, for those of you keeping track of my music project at school, Vivaldi's "Spring" is our song-of-the-week this week. I found it fitting.)

Thanks for stopping by...

Tommy

Once again, i'm easy like Sunday morning....

Hello everyone!

So, yeah, I pretty much suck as a blogger, don't I? Haven't updated in...well, WAY too long. So, thought I'd let you all know what's been going down. So, last we talked, was back in February. (Again, sorry!!)

We had spring break, and Bibi and I went down to KC for the week. We got there Sunday, the 4th, after a wonderfully relaxing weekend, and hung out with Bibi's family for awhile. We had just a couple of goals for our week. We wanted to find a house to buy and we wanted to relax. We spent Monday driving around different areas looking at houses for sale by owners, and writing down numbers to call. We then made what seemed like an obscene number of telephone calls trying to set up walk-throughs. We looked online and tried to get contact numbers on what really WAS an obscene number of houses. We finally got a call from a REALLY excited realitor who wanted to show up two houses that we had looked into. We then drove out to where the houses were, and we were immediatly disheartened. To say that they were nothing but a crap heap with an expensive price tag would be a grave insult to all crap heaps with expensive pricetags in the world. They were disgusting; and, to be honest, the neighborhoods did not leave me with a "hey, I feel really safe here!" feeling.

So, I was feeling down, to say the least.

Tuesday we got up and decided we were going to re-energize ourselves and try again. Bibi went out to lunch with a friend, I sat outside Starbucks and read (more on that later) and at 3 we met with a much more reasonable realitor in Independence. We told her what we were looking for, what we were NOT looking for, and she came up with a folder's worth of houses that she wanted us to look at and let her know if we wanted to look through 'em. They were all MUCH nicer than the previous houses we had looked at, and they made us feel much better about our chances. In fact, two of them we almost fell in love with at first sight.

Wednesday we met with the realitor again to walk through some of the houses. The first houses we really wanted to go through was right in the low to middle of our hoped-for price range. However, the realitor called us and told us that, alas, it had been put under contract the night before. So, we couldn't look at that one. The second house was a little on the high side of our price range and was really small--it was very nice, to be sure, but WAY too small. The third house, and yes, I know I'm getting a little "Goldilocks" on you was...well, it was a little on the high side, but definitely not TOO high, and it was perfect. In fact, it was huge. It was wonderful. We wanted to play it cool, and all of our pre-approval papers were in Kville, so we told our realitor friend that we wanted to give it some careful consideration, but that we did indeed like it. The rest of the week was spent relaxing and enjoying our time in KC.

I read two books over break. "Somebodies and Nobodies" by Robert Fuller, and I'm reading "Only Revolutions" by Mark Z. Danielewski now. Somebodies and Nobodies is a www.bookcrossing.com book, and it's up for grabs if anyone wants it. It's a look at, what Fuller calls, the most pervasive source of "dignity abuse" in our world, the "cancer" that faces our world really; and that abuse is the abuse of rank in all it's myriad forms. Basically, according to the author, if you were to take all of the defining characteristics of all of the "isms" in our world, (e.g. sexism, ageism, racism, etc.) they could all be summed up as an abuse of rank, real or perceived. And the real crux of this abuse is that it by necessity deprives all humans of their one truly important need: dignity. It was interesting. So, like I said, if you're interested in it, let me know, and I'll send it your way.

"Only Revolutions" is by a very intriguing author. Danielewski is a master at writing complicated and unique novels. The construction of the texts, and the structure of the story is very unorthadox, and makes for a very unusual reading experience. The story is in two parts: One part is Sam's story. Sam is a forever sixteen year old who travels all around America with his girlfriend Hailey from the 1860's to the 1960's. The other part of the story is about a girl named Hailey who travels all around America with her boyfriend Sam from the 1960's on. But, in order to see the complexity of the structure, you need to get yourself a copy of this book. (c;

Ok, so that diversionary section was put there on purpose. I did that because after Bibi and I got back from break, as we were filling out our paperwork, we realized that with the baby coming, with the move to Kansas City, and with me not having a job lined up officially yet, buying a house right now would definitely NOT be the best choice for us. So, we're going to go back and look at some rental properties and see what our options are there.

And jobs? Well, I had a screening interview in Lee's Summit back in February and I thought it went really well. When Bibi and I came back from break there was a letter from Lee's Summit basically saying that they thought I did really well, too, and that they would be passing my information on to any schools in the district that had openings, and if they were interested in setting up an interview, the district would get in touch. (Basically, 'we'll call you'.) So, that sounds promising, but it's a wait and see kind of a situation. So, we'll wait and see. (It's Napolean's Battle Plan. I'm going to show up in KC and see what arises. Hopefully it works better for me than it did for him--I don't really want to die in exile on the island of Elba, you know?)

Ok. Well, it's getting to be time for a refill of coffee. So, you all have a great Sunday, and I promise an update before next weekend.....hopefully. (c;

Thanks for stopping by...

Tommy

Live from Kirksville...it's Weekend Update!

Well, hello out there!

How're things going?

Yeah? Oh, that sounds nice!

So, it was a great weekend.

We went to KC for a couple of reasons. On Saturday morning, I had my first job interview in the KC area. I thought it went swimmingly, and I'm really looking forward to hearing about it in the next week or so. (They send out a letter.) Stay tuned!!!

Sunday, finally, we got to meet with our midwife. That was awesome. She told us that everything is going along well, and that she thinks things are fine. We listened to the heartbeat again, and she said that she thought it sounded like a boy's. (We're not finding out, so this isn't definite, but, well, it sounded awesome. (c; )

Then we came back to Kville and we have five days left til Spring Break. We're going back to KC to look for a house. Busy, busy, busy. (c;

Still reading the Counterinsurgency Manual. I'm on the appendices, so it shouldn't be too long now. What are you reading now?

Thanks for stopping by...
Tommy

Won't Get Fooled Again!

Hey everyone! I am still alive and kicking. Things are going well here in the 'ville.

Tim, I got your message today, and I didn't get a chance to call you back. I'd love to hang out sometime soon. Let me know when you're coming up.

This weekend was a great one. Friday night I worked at Il Spazio, and Bibi was going to go back to KC for the weekend, but Friday night it started snowing, and snowing, and snowing and then it just kept right on snowing. So, Bibi did not go back to KC. After work, we hung out and called it a night fairly early. Saturday we got up and Bibi went to a meeting called "Birth Circle" for women who are recent mothers or mothers-to-be. She had fun; I, in the meantime, got some dishes done and read. (More on that later.)

Saturday night I worked again, and Sunday was a LAZY day. We watched some shows that we have taped, and just hung out. Monday I hung out at Java Co, read, and hung out with some friends. (It was wonderful.)

Last night--Monday night--Bibi and I wanted to try out a new recipe, so we got out one of our cookbooks, and made a traditional Irish dish called Colcannon. It was deli-wait for it!!--cious.

All right. So, now on to the literary updates.

Apparently the book that I talked about last time, the Newberry Award winner, has caused quite a stir on the internet. And, as it's getting a lot of buzz, I don't feel too bad naming the book here. It was called "The Higher Power of Lucky" by Susan Patron. And, if you google it, you'll find all manner of arguments regarding its value as a book because of it's use of the word scrotum. Now, I don't know if I stated my feelings clearly enough last week, so I'll say them again here....the word scrotum is not what I have a problem with. The fact that this book was recognized as the best of the best for children's literature is what I have a problem with. (It's just not that good.)

And, what am I reading now, you may ask? (Ok, so, maybe you don't care what I'm reading now. If not, then why in the world are you still reading? That's what this blog is about!) I just picked up a copy of Lt. General David Petraeus' "Counterinsurgency Manual" for the United States Army. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the name, he was just made the head honcho of all the troops in Iraq, and last summer he wrote a new version of the counterinsurgency manual for all the armed forces. I thought I would check it out, as he has some pretty revolutionary theories on fighting the insurgency in Iraq (i.e.: making the Iraqi people secure is a task that will require something more than just bullets and tanks, and that in order to successfully complete the tast ahead of our troops, our number one goal is to put the Iraqi people in charge of their own future.) In know...wild, isn't it?

All right, so let me leave you all with a thought: Last week the House of Representatives debated (fairly pathetically) the issue of whether or not to pass a non-binding resolution against President Bush's troop surge plan. The senate wasn't even able to debate it, and the proposed vote failed. Now, here are my questions: 1) What the hell good is a "non-binding resolution?, and 2) Isn't it the job of the American people to protest when they disagree with the actions of their government, and isn't it the job of the government to, you know, actually DO something about it, instead of attempting to pass purely symbolic, and in reality absolutely meaningless "resolutions"?

Your thoughts....

(Thanks for stopping by!!)

Tommy

Easy like Sunday morning....

Greetings readers!

The end of the week was good. Thursday night Bibi and I made chocolate chip cookies and they were good.

Friday was good as well. I went to work (I'm back at Il Spazio) and then Bibi and I went to a get together for some of her sorority sisters, and that was fun. Saturday we just hung out with a friend who came over to work with me on my iPod. (Good stuff--thanks Dan!!). Then, we cleaned up a little around the house, and I went to work again. It was a really weird, slow night.

During all of these things, I was reading a new book. On Friday I finished "You Suck" by Christopher Moore, and it was succulent. (Har dee har har.) However, I needed a new book, and so I went to talk to my school librarian. She was excited to see me, because we often talk about new kids books and developments in the realm of children's lit. So, here's the deal...

There's this new book. I don't want to be too specific, but it is the 2007 Newberry Award winner. (That means that it is being acknowledged as the best of books written specifically for children.) However, in the first page there are references to decidedly un-childlike topics. And, on page nine, the entire page is dedicated to that same topic. At first glance, having only seen those two pages, I was chagrined and taken aback. See, I'm not for censorship AT ALL. However, common sense has to play a huge part in determining whether or not a given reading material is appropriate for a specific age group. I was really, really torn. There are a lot of factors to consider: value of the rest of the piece, importance of the questionable material in context, and the literary "worth" of the piece as a whole. For example, I feel that Huck Finn, an unbelievably excellent book, is important as a whole because the use of the controversial "n word" is purposeful and designed to highlight the hypocracy of racism in general, and slavery specifically.

So, I read the book. And, here are my conclusions: While the book deals with some excellent topics, i.e.: abandonment, death, belonging, redemption, family, finding one's "higher power" and making responsible decisions, just to name a few, it does so in a way that does not redeem the use of the questionable material. It's good, but...it's not THAT good. I think that it is appropriate for older kids, and since my kids are the oldest kids in my school, and the book would be available to younger, less emotionally mature kids, it probably isn't the best option to put it in our library, but placing it at the middle school would be a good choice.

So, here's my question for you....

Censorship...a necessary evil, or needlessly draconian administrative micromanagement tool? And, are there any books that you've read that should, or should NOT have been censored?

Discuss....

It's been awhile...

Hey everyone. Sorry about the lapse in posts...I don't really have a good excuse....so, I'll make one up.

Space monkeys. Space monkeys came and messed with our internet connection. There were wires and fiber optics and little bits of space monkey everywhere. Very messy.

Anyway, I'm back!

Let's see...so, last time I posted I talked about my new music plan for my classroom. So far it's been really cool. My class enjoyed Pachelbel's Canon in D, and now they're enjoying Beethoven's 14th Sonata, better known as the "Moonlight Sonata." I've also really enjoyed getting the suggestions from those of you who have made comments. I think I've got a bit more than I bargained for--there is a LOT of very significant music out there, you know? (c;

Last night, after watching American Idol, which we love, Bibi and I had a BLAST doing the dishes. I know, I know, we're such dorks, but we were rocking out to James Brown in the kitchen doing ridiculous little dances and just all and all having a blast. It was really fun. (It's an amazing thing when you get to spend your life with your best friend!!!)

On the literary front, I've read quite a few books in the hiatus. I read a book called, "The Power of Now" by Eckhart Toll. VERY interesting book. It's about spirituality, reality, time, evanescence (the quality, not the musical group) and the nature of our existence. Very interesting book. I'd recommend it highly.

After that I read Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides. It's a very interesting and skillfully crafted tale about a Greek family that came to the US in the 1920s. It follows the family line through three generations while exploring issues such as national pride, war, politics, sexuality, gender, family, adolescence, and the value and importance of death as it relates to life. The narrator is a hermaphrodite born and raised as a girl who then realizes that he is actually male. The author, Eugenides, does an amazing job of allowing the narrator to "sound" feminine as a child and preteen, conflicted as all teenagers are as a teenager, and then masculine later in life.

Very well told story. Again, I'd recommend it.

I also read a book on the Bradley Method of childbirth. That was really interesting. I learned SO much about childbirth, labor, the female body and the miracle of life. Even if you're not going for a natural childbirth, I'd recommend it as a refresher for that unit during high school on human reproduction. (c;

And, now, I'm reading the new book by Christopher Moore. It's called....(wait for it...) "You Suck: A Love Story". It's a sequal to Moore's comedic smash, "Bloodsucking Fiends", also a love story. (With vampires.) So far, hilarious. At one point, Moore refers to someone who gestures wildly with his hands as having "ASL Tourettes". (c;

All right. That's all. Hope you're all having a great time out there. Anyone else counting down to Lost's return tonight?!

Congrat's to Matt and Courtney...(don't forget...I'll perform the ceremony if you'll let me!!!!)

Thanks for stopping by ya'll!

Tommy

Music hath powers...

So, I've decided I'm making a change.

For those of you who don't know, I play music for my students whenever they are given time to work on assignments in class. I have a random assortment of CDs in my classroom that are mostly classical and some blues and jazz/be-bop songs. I'll play them for the kids, and I love the fact that they get a chance to hear some music that they MIGHT not otherwise be able to.

However, I was feeling this week like it wasn't enough. That, while it's great that they hear Mozart and that I've told them that studies have shown that listening to Mozart while working on math can improve standardized math scores, it still isn't enough...there is SO much great music out there.

So, here's my plan.

I have scheduled out one song per week from here on out for the rest of the year. At the end of the day, after all other work has been done, students will be given a chance to listen to, take in, and learn about one song that I have deemed "culturally significant." This week (and next, because I started out on Thursday) is Pachelbel's Canon in D. So, each day we listen to the song, the students are able to draw what the song reminds them of, they're able to journal on it, or just enjoy it. We're going to discuss voice and how music--whether it has words or not--can clearly and quite effectively express the author/composer's feelings and thoughts.

So, what does "culturally significant" mean? Well, just a few of the songs that I have selected are: Moonlight Sonata, All You Need is Love, You Can't Always Get What You Want, Rhapsody in Blue, New York New York, This Land is Your Land (the original, complete version, so that my class can see that it's really a protest song),

Now, for this year I believe I have all the songs picked out. But, I'm willing to reassess my choices and selections as I go. So, here's your job....

what songs, dear readers, do you think are culturally significant?

Discuss.

Tommy

Live blogging the State of the Union Address....

If you watched the State of the Union, here are my thoughts, as the speech happened. If you didn't? Well, these are still my thoughts as the speech happened.

Man, they clap a lot.

First time in the history of America that a woman has sat among the three at the head of the auditorium.

Seems as if the Democrats are doing up the civility thing a bit much. Are they actually cheering?!

Standing ovation for Madame Speaker. That's neat.

I have to say....there is a great deal of happiness in that building.

It's almost like a Catholic mass! Sit, stand, sit, stand, shake hands, sit, stand, sit stand....etc.

It's always funny how whichever party is NOT in the majority cries foul against the other party in respect to their bipartisinship. (Sp?!)

Balance the budget? How...uh, exactly do you think we should do that? By continuing to pay for an outrageously expensive war, while eliminating the cost of education by creating a ridiculous plan for taking away the funds of schools that meet a near-impossible expectation?

Eliminating wasteful earmarks? Sounds VERY good. Good

I like how Pelosi did NOT clap at the allusion to vouchers, but she DID applaud at the part about providing failing students with extra help. It's REALLy funny seeing how different Cheney and Pelosi react.

Health Insurance:
I may be wrong...but I don't think that most people take the tax structure into account when considering whether they can afford health insurance.

Is it just me, or does Dick Cheney's inner monologue sound like Billy Bob Thornton from Sling Blade? "I don't reckon' I got no reason to kill no body....mmmmmm".

I do appreciate that Bush is making an effort to acknowledge the fact that this country does depend a great deal on the work (not mooching---WORK!!) of immigrants, legal or otherwise.

I forget who said this, it wasn't me, but John Kerry looks like one of the trees that throws apples at Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz.

Nucular. (c;
Yay ethenol!!!
I think I've heard Obama speak on the topic of energy independence, and he's got some great ideas. Obama recognizes that our dependence on foreign sources of oil ARE a threat to our national security, not just a "tree-hugger" issue.

Did you see that?! Robin Williams was right!!! George Bush is actually Cheney's puppet!!! They DRANK WATER A THE SAME TIME!!!! Bush can't speak while Cheney is drinking!!!!

Am I the only one who had never heard about those terrorist plots that we thwarted? Geez, I thought I was doing a good job staying on top of the news....yeesh....

Every time Bush mentions Iran, I assume he's about to announce that we're going to war against them, too.

Not to open up a WHOLE can of worms....but, terrorists are terrorists not because they hate freedom, but because they hate what they perceive to be the grave offenses we have committed against them. It's a bit of a difference.

As I teach my kids, you need to explain to me what SPECIFICALLY what qualify as a "victory" in Iraq. I don't feel like you've gone into enough detail as far as achievable steps towards that all to vague goal of "victory". Need more evidence to support your claim.

Talking about the reallocation of Iraqi oil funds SOUNDS good, but the Iraqi oil infrastructure is so far gone and in such a state of disrepair, that it's going to take a great deal of Iraqi monetary investment to get to the point where Iraqi oil will provide the country with profits. Where does that initial money come from?

How are you going to increase the number of recruits in the military when you're getting us further bogged down in an increasingly unpopular war? Every time we send troops back for another tour of duty, people who would have volunteered for the armed forces have more reasons to doubt the benefits of that choice.

You should all check out Larry Brilliant's work in helping to eliminate Small Pox from the world. It's impressive. (Bush was talking about our work on AIDS/HIV, and malaria.

Dikembe Motumbo is nineteen feet tall.

Baby Einstein and America's Most Wanted, working side-by-side? I mean, yeah...it makes sense if you think about it, but that's like....Run DMC and Aerosmith doing a song together....

Damn! The Dems are in a RUSH to get out of there!!!!

All right...that's all.

What did you all think of the SOTU address?

Tommy

120 Days of Joy....

Today was a special day....

In Bibi's tradition, the 120th day of pregnancy is the day that the soul of the baby becomes more solidly linked to the mother.

Today was that day.

We had friends and family in to town for a special meal and a reading from the Sikh scriptures. The day was not in honor of the baby; there are many days and special events for that. Today was in honor of Bibi and the special role that Bibi will fulfill as the mother of our child.
"we are all born of a woman...compassion is learned in the lap of the woman and...
that peace is not possible anywhere that woman is not honored and respected."
We came together as a group of friends and family, to embrace the sacred nature that a mother inherently possesses.

It was a special day.

Thanks for stopping by.

Tommy

Over the hills and through the woods...

Well, thank you Nconner and everyone else who read my blog today. We are safely back in Kville. The roads weren't TOO bad...but, well, it was a bit precarious at times.

My knuckles are still white.

We had no major trouble, although we did see someone do a 360 into the ditch.

Anywho.

Had a great time in KC, although our midwife was unable to meet us, which was too bad.

All right, I'm going to go massage my knuckles so that they can get some color back into them.

How was your weekend? Are you staying warm?

Thanks for stopping by....

Tommy

A Request....

This is a request to everyone in Kirksville. Bibi and I are potentially stuck in KC. It's Monday, the roads are...well, not good. We're contemplating not coming back today, but I need a little input. How are the roads in KVille, how are the roads supposed to be....and, how likely is it that school is going to happen/not happen tomorrow?

All right....go go gadget bloggers.

Tommy

Correction

Hey everyone....thought I'd clarify my last post.

Bibi and I are moving at the end of this school year. I am MOST DEFINITELY staying at my job through the end of the school year....I am NOT going to renig on my committment to my students or my school.

What I meant in my last posting was that we are going to try and find a place for Bibi and I to get so that SHE can move middle of May, and I"ll finish up the school year and THEN go down to be with her. So. There ya go.

Oh, and we didn't go to KC tonight b/c the roads were so bad. Hopefully we'll be able to go tomorrow.

So....it's just a quiet Friday night.

What are you up to?

Tommy

So, I thought I might actually provide some details for ya'll.

Bibi is due June 19th. We're not finding out the sex until she gives birth, and we heard the heartbeat for the first time on November 30th, and it was the MOST amazing thing I've ever heard in my entire life. It was amazing....oh, I get chills still thinking about it. (c;

Bibi is beginning to show and she looks BEAUTIFUL.

In other news, we're going to Kansas City for an appointment with our midwife this weekend. We're going to have an at-home delivery, and our midwife is in Kansas City. (We're hoping to move just before the school year finishes up, so that we can have our new bundle of joy in KC.)

I'm not going to lie....it's frightening....it's scary and nerve-wracking. And, it's the most amazing thing I've ever thought about...and I can't wait. (c;

That's all. Oh, have you seen the commerical where the family is sitting around the dinner table and the dad asks if the two kids have picked "their five"? The teenaged daughter lists five of her friends, and the son, who is slightly younger says, "oh that's interesting...I picked those same five girls. Your friends are HOT." The daughter looks at her parents and says, "are you going to do anything about this?!" And, they dad's response is the GREATEST line in a commercial EVER:

"Maybe you should have uglier friends."


Cracks me up EVERY time I see it. Bibi, too.

Good times, good times.

All right, my New Year's Resolution is to be a good father.

What's yours?

Tommy

I've got a secret....

Hey....guess what!











































We're having a BABY!!!!!!

June 19th. (Ish.)

We can't WAIT!!!!

Thanks for stopping by!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Tommy

Pleasant Valley Wednesday...

What's up, readers?

Well....it's been too long since my last post, and I wanted you all to know that I am indeed alive and kicking, and that things are going, for the most part, pretty well.

Christmas was nice.

New Year's Eve was great.

It's good to be back at school.

I have been reading, and most of the books have been really good. There was one that I didn't finish, and it was a difficult decision.

There is more to say, and it will be said soon....

Gee, that came off WAY more cryptic and dripping with meaning than I meant it to. Seriously, I just don't really feel like I have all that much to say. (I know, weird, isn't it?!)


Anyway. I hope you all had a wonderful time, filled with the spirit and sentiment of the season that has just come and gone.

God bless you all, and I hope the year starts out, and continues to be, a great one for you.

Thanks for stopping by, and check back for exciting updates! (c;

Tommy