The DN
1 Every now and again the DN blows up on me.
2 That happened this morning.
3 I had a great piece going about this documentary I watched yesterday called The Birth of the Tramp. It was on in the early afternoon after a hectic day, and I sat and enjoyed it.
4 It was the back story to Charlie Chaplin's swift claim to fame.
5 After spending most of the past two weeks walking on eggs about the District/Teacher impasse, it was nice to enjoy a November afternoon watching the story of Charlie Chaplin.
6 It flickered and I loved it.
7 I also did a bit about showing Oliver Stone's JFK today, and backing Stone at every level, despite the poor "reviews" he got by the same people who don't want the story told.
8 Because I pulled a couple of things off other websites, this morning's DN became scrambled, with layers of different websites scrambling it.
9 I don't think for a minute it was the Man.
10 I think it was user error.
11 So it goes.
12 So this one will be be graciously brief.
13 I'll try to retrieve the original, but it was a scrambled mess.
14 Meanwhile, you get with your family and friends and live a little. A whole bunch of us got roughed up these past couple of weeks, and it is time to laugh, to eat, and to enjoy those we hold most dear.
15 Have a GREAT Thanksgiving everybody!
16 Peace.
~H~
The DN
1 Ah, Thanksgiving week.
2 Not a moment too soon.
3 I didn't see too many JFK specials on Saturday.
4 <crickets>
5 That was the 51st anniversary of the assassination to end all assassinations.
6 I still teach it.
7 It is updated and moves in all sorts of new directions, but I still think young people need to know that every now and again their government lies to them.
8 The fact that we refer to our leaders as "the government" is of itself a distortion.
9 Ah, foolishness.
10 I imagine it is nice not to look too carefully at history. Once we realize it is ongoing it becomes scary.
11 I watched Beneath the Planet of the Apes the other day, only because it was on. It is the sequel to the 1968 film version of the Pierre Boulle book.
12 It began with the By the Waters of Babylon ending with Taylor (Charlton Heston) looking up at the Statue of Liberty resting on an ocean shore. Logic would dictate that the Statue of Liberty would probably have been beneath the shore given the amount of time since said Apocalypse. Remember being a kid and letting the waves bury your feet? You ankles go under pretty swiftly. There was no Statue of Liberty in the book. Rod Serling added that. Not criticizing, because Rod Serling can get away with things like that.
13 We then see Taylor and Nova (Linda Harrison) ride past the Statue and THEN continue into The Forbidden Zone.
14 To me, the history lesson should have stopped there.
15 In Beneath, no sooner had they gone off by horse when fire suddenly surrounded them, and Heston disappeared. He came back at the end, probably for his paycheck.
16 I won't bore you with the rest. It received a 41% Rotten Tomatoes rating. Contrast with 89% for the original, which was written my Michael Wilson and Rod Serling.
17 The back story of Beneath is far too complex and depressing to put here, except that it ended up being written by some of the actors. Nobody wanted to touch it, and it looked like it.
18 And then...
19 The world came to an end and everybody died.
20 The End.
21 Pretty lofty. It sure brought me up.
22 The final scene in the original, by the way, wasn't filmed on the East Coast. It was filmed at Point Dume in Malibu.
23 Dume. Doom. Get it? <finger snaps>
24 Deep.
25 Beneath the Planet of the Apes is arguably the worst film ever written.
26 I wish Mystery Science Theater could have gotten a hold of it. They would have taken it home.
27 Moving On, Part One: I don't remember my original thesis. Oh, following the JFK story. That's right.
28 I don't like doing that. The history doesn't go where I want it to go, which is to bring someone to justice.
29 We still have those rogues and their children creating all sorts of havoc.
30 And they'll make anyone getting close to the truth look like a lunatic.
31 No thanks.
32 I'll leave it at Oliver Stone's doorstep.
33 Stone was much closer to the truth than was the Warren Commission, the fairy tale story "the government" concocted. As Dr. Cyril Wecht once put it, "...the report issued by the Commission should be moved from the nonfiction section of every library and placed into the fiction section."
34 IAmen brother.
35 I'd rather not think about it too much anymore. Ironically, I'm done, yet I have to teach it now that I started it.
36 It's not that I'm disinterested; it's just so depressing, really. I'd rather not think too much about anything these days except family and friends.
37 Good place to be on a Monday.
38 Well, I overslept this morning, always a good thing, but not too restful, and it tends to rush things a bit.
39 I just need to match my shoes. Can't run off with a red tennis shoe and a black church shoe. People might think I'm in the Illuminaughty.
40
41 That's the name of one of my student groups, their concoction. You gotta love it.
42 Gottago.
43 See yous again. Short week if you can work it. Fly low and don't take nothin' from nobody.
44 I can even turn a triple negative if I add the word "hardly" in there. Students manage to do that artistically.
45 Ask any teacher who reads and grades the papers they collect. There are quite a few of us, believe it or not.
46 AnywayZ...
47 See you again.
48 Peace.
~H~
The DN
1 I feel like Merlin just flew me in on a cloud of pixie dust.
2 <twinkle>
3 I just got home from the Board meeting and have absolutely nothing to report. Well...I do. Sort of.
4 It's a mild story, but here goes.
5 I got off school at exactly 3:30, got in my car and drove to the D.O. (jive for the District Office).
6 I stopped at McKee and ducked into Starbuck's. It was raining.
7 Had a grilled cheese and a frap, and chilled for a bit.
8 Once I had things going my way, I headed up to the District Office.
9 It was WAY early. Three people were in there and the girl at the desk still said, "May I help you?"
10 It began to pour. If it were a movie I would have thrown a cliche' flag. I'm surprised no lightning.
11 I headed home. My house is a few miles from the D.O.
12 Got inside and re-grouped. I was already wiped out by all the stresses of the negotiations, and trying to work to rule, a nearly impossible task.
13 Made a little chicken/veggie soup and got back out. It was closer to 6:00 but at this point I couldn't tell. It was dark and scary driving there.
14 It poured.
15 When I arrived, the parking lot was a rain-slick zoo. People parked in zany areas. They were almost peculiar in their choices of parking spaces. Scary.
16 Not a normal parking lot. I got the skeets. I wanted out.
17 The cars came alive, I swear to you. They had cartoon eyes and everything.
18 I tried to get out but one guy parked in an area that indented the corner area, causing a turn that was ridiculously thin for even the tiniest of cars.
19 I tried to make a u-turn in the corner of the parking lot.
20 I looked like a Sumo wrestler trying on a girdle.
21 Forward two inches, backwards two inches and repeat and repeat and forward two inches...
22 That was my brain counting the u-turn adjustments.
23 I finally turned clean and got out.
24 I hopped on the freeway and headed home.
25 When I drove up, Helene was already there.
26 I was going to take a cab to the D.O. but she offered to drive me there. I didn't want to ruin her evening, because she never gets to be by herself.
27 She gave me a ride to the D.O. but was free to relax the rest of the night. I figured I could call a cab; the place is close. Or even walk; it's only a few miles down the road.
28 She pulled in and headed straight for the same area with the indented corner. I yelled, "Don't go that way!"
29 She saw no reason not to continue in that direction, then she saw the corner. "See?" I said.
30 Without a glance she drifted right around that cartoon corner like it was the Grand Canyon.
31 And this with rain and mist and all. Suddenly all was clean. She pulled right up to the front.
32 Yeesh.
33 'Tis the season.
34 We exchanged good-byes and I headed in.
35 I saw some friends and began boushitting.
36 Anyone lookin'?
37 I heard a voice that sounded like Neil Patrick Harris impersonating Che coming from the lobby speakers.
38 He popped off about all the GREAT students who had graduated from the District.
39 I sensed a filibuster from the District's bag of tricks, and it would appear I was correct. Bore people and they'll go home. Demagogues.
40 Some things just don't surprise me.
41 The rest of the night seemed an illusion, a migration from one friend to another.
42 Other worldly. You really couldn't squeeze into the main room to see, nor really did you want to. It was hot and uncomfortable in there, so I stayed in the lobby.
43 Would that make me a lobbiest?
44 It makes you think.
45 I ran into Lisa Baker, and we took to chatting. I told her about the rain and all and it turns out she lives right by me. She offered a ride, so no worries there.
46 It turned into a nice night where friends would flit to different friends, catching up while the speaker from the next room crackled and moaned. There was no live feed on the monitors in the lobby, which completely puzzled me. They don't have that technology? They have everything else.
47 The microphone, the cheers from inside, the coolness of the lobby, and the array of students taking pics for homework assignments made for a pretty nice night. The student speeches rocked. Someone taught those students. Impressive; kids from the entire District rallied for the teachers!
48 I was relieved of news-reporting duties, since I couldn't get in the room nor hear anything but chants. I peeked into the main room.
49 A teacher stood in the middle with a wireless mic. She talked about the club or team that she coached. Between tears she went on.
50 She told of how her students would go help feed the hungry during the holidays, and because of work to rule, she decided to cancel it, which meant that people who normally get food would not be getting it from her students.
51 She cried, and it was a poignant moment. She did that so that other teachers would get the message.
52 It was the stuff of movies.
53 Lisa needed to go so I said my good-byes. It was nice seeing old friends and talking with colleagues. I don't know where it will all go from here. We believed in this new Superintendent when he first came to us. He was from a family of teachers. He knew the soul of teachers. That's the Board we all want. One teacher chanted, "Be that Board! Be that Board!"
54 Be that Board. Solve it. Let that club feed those folks who need help. Understand you have an army of volunteers willing to do things. Give us respect. We will respect you.
55 That was the message. Don't be the Board you have been lately. Improve, and Be that Board. The one that listens and sees what teachers do.
56 If you don't, you own that legacy. It won't be pretty.
57 Gottago, but that was the basic message.
58 Be that Board. Go back into session and re-consider.
59 That's it.
60 See you again.
61 Peace.
~H~
The DN
1 I just read yesterday's DN.
2 It that had landed with a rubber band around it on my driveway, I would have picked it up and thrown it back to the paper boy.
3 What was I smokin'?
4 Oh, bother.
5 I talked about the Who, and Sally Simpson, and its origin.
6 I read from a chapter entitled Amazing Journey from Pete Townshend's Who I Am.
7 So it was moving along, kind of like driving on a rocky dirt road.
8 And then...
9 The District.
10 The Teachers.
11 The Staff.
12 The Parents.
13 The Community.
13 They stood before me like fading cardboard cutouts.
----> Focus in: there's a Board Meeting. It's tonight. We are to show up en masse. You are invited to attend. It begins at 4 p.m. It technically begins at 4 p.m. Here is the address:
830 N. Capitol Ave. San Jose, CA 95133. (408) 347-5000.
If nothing else, you can bet that if an enormous amount of people show up, a voice will be heard. As a taxpayer I am outraged they haven't settled this yet.
15 So I'll go.
16 I'm doing the right thing.
17 I'm going to be at the Board Meeting.
18 I feel I have no choice.
19 What they will do is they will open the doors, drink water for around 45 minutes, then disappear, and then come out at leisure.
20 Their modus: take time. Stretch it out. Don't get to the real issues until everyone has tired out and gone home.
21 NVM.
22 Now I see what I was smokin'.
23 Impatience. It began pumping through me.
24 The entire District has its eyes on this, each school, each community, each janitor, each Principal, each student.
25 Sorry if I left you out. You start naming good people in education it's a long list.
26 So I'll stay positive.
27 I just want it over. I want grown-ups deciding things. This should have been settled months ago. My feeling is this: the District is not bargaining in good faith. If they were, this would be done. They have the resources to end it. It is unconscionable. Just my opinion.
28 I'll have to be patient.
29
30 I think that's it for today.
31 At least for now. I will be there.
32 I will be there.
33 Moving On, Part One: I would like to send a prayer out to all the people who have recently been through crises. It seems a lot. I just want you to know that we're all praying for each other, and I feel what you are going through.
32 Stay peaceful; it works. Families and friends cry with you, but we also laugh, because you need that strength. So much going on! Stay strong; I love all of you.
33 November. Wow. Fallen leaves, spiritual skies.
34 Take care.
35 Peace.
~H~
The DN
DRIVE THRU PRAYERS!!!
1 Wow. An afternoon like a normal person: driving around trying to pic up a few things at the super-market, getting to the checkout and the line is around the block. Dodging tailgaters and still getting home by 4:30
2 Cleaning the kitchen instead of grading papers. Cooking the dinner instead of writing lesson plans.
3 And I still get a full evening.
4 I could get used to this. At 5:30 last night I was in the back room listening to Casablanca play behind me while I pressed my brain to get me an idea.
5
6 <honk>
7 Maybe it's the cashews. I munch cashews.
8 Good source of nutrition.
9 I'm also reading passages from Pete Townshend's auto bio Who I Am. I repeat: I've now got the time.
10 I'm reading the chapter entitled Amazing Journey. It has some fun parts. Here is a sample:
"We played several shows with The Troggs, whose hit single 'Wild Thing' had been borrowed by Jimi Hendrix. A show with The Doors marked the first time I'd met Jim Morrison, who was respectful, but very drunk. During the Door's show a girl ran on stage and tried to touch Jim's face. He was startled and turned suddenly; two bouncers misinterpreted his action and threw the girl into a barrier, cutting her face quite badly. Jim hauled her back out again and she was brought backstage, where I was among those who comforted her. The incident became the inspiration for my song for Tommy called 'Sally Simpson'."
11 If you are familiar with Tommy, or even the film or the stage musical you would perhaps have heard Sally Simpson.
12 Great old Who song.
13 And it's early. Maybe I could Google it and learn it now that I don't have to plan or grade.
14 Moving On, Part One: Have you ever been on a fast shopping trip and tried to buy Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme?
15 To this day I've never completed that task. I'm usually in a rush with hundreds of other shoppers, many of whom now hang out in the veggie area.
16 It's like driving down a main street that has no traffic lights, like the the early days of San Francisco traffic.
17 I usually begin with one of those herbs that is not parsley.
18 So in short I never have successfully done that.
19 Bucket List.
20 I find sage, for example, and it triggers the hunt for the other three.
21 Meanwhile I have near shopping cart encounters with every sort of kook on the planet.
22 Beats workin'.
23 Moving On, Part Two: Ya gotta love this. Fremont Catholic Parish is now offering Drive-Thru prayers. They refer to it as the "God on the go program" so they can bring prayer "where the people are."
24 The Holy Spirit Catholic Church offers the prayers weeknights from 5 to 6 p.m. It is at 37588 Fremont Blvd. Fremont, CA 94536. (510-797-1660).
25 A lot of people I know could use something like that right now.
26 Just thought I'd share.
27 Moving On, Part Three: A's fans must be reeling. They just got Billy Butler from the Royals. They might become downright dangerous next year. More power to them. That guy is the real deal.
28 Headline in this morning's Merc: IF YOU CAN'T BEAT 'EM, JOIN 'EM, with a great picture of Billy Butler looking out at his new team. Welcome to the Bay Area, Mr. Butler.
29 Lots of good news.
30 No grading. No planning. A real life. I'm not used to this. At first it was like shaking a severe addiction.
31 As I modified lessons and realized the District is not bargaining in good faith, and is in fact trying to squeeze us into not working to rule, I'm finding it peaceful. The idea of taking a ride to Fremont and saying prayers for nearly everyone I know > coming back each day to see that talks haven't improved. What's the big hold up, unless they are trying to break our union? It's difficult to see the other side to this.
32 There has to be a bit of give on both sides, but clearly the District and the teachers need to compromise. A strike is the worst of all situations and would be devastating to the students.
33 I'm making sure they are getting quality lessons right now, despite all. They don't need homework every night. I don't need paperwork every night. The entire purpose of homework is to ensure the students are taking the lessons seriously and that they are on top of the standards we are teaching.
34 I usually take a break from giving lots of assignments this time of year anyway. It's like a Coinstar. They've poured all the coins they have in, and now they need to wait for it to count the coins.
35
36 Ah, c'mon. Don't EVEN pretend you've never done Coinstar.
37 That's those embarrassing green machines that are in supermarkets. You give up something like 10% of your loose coin values, but it will count all your coins, as well as your pocket lint, mints and guitar picks, and give you a coupon that you could redeem at the check-out.
38 Each year I throw all my loose change into a coffee can, everything: dollar coins, quarters, dimes, and foreign coins that somehow worked their way into the mix: all of it.
39 I never thing about the interest. I have walked into Lucky's at 7 a.m. the day before I go to Tahoe and do this when nobody is around. It's usually an early Saturday. I've come out with $400. Always makes me smile. It isn't much in terms of a vacay, but it's better than counting coins from your purse and having $000.
40 This Pinterest idea comes to you courtesy of this Old Brown Shoe. Use it. ; ) <-------------winky emoticon dude.
41 I think that's about it for today. I wanted to keep it positive today, since I finally had a good night's sleep sans night terrors.
42 And no, I didn't learn Sally Simpson on guitar.
43 But it is on my Bucket List.
44 So is driving around in the afternoons and enjoying afternoons and evenings after work.
45 I'm going to have a second cup of coffee and go in with a clear mind, and in a much better move.
46 Have a GREAT Wednesday. If you are a teacher in our District, take a real break. Stop volunteering your free time. Do that when the District gets sensible and sees that we are willing to put hundreds of volunteer hours in.
47 Just not this minute.
48 Gottago. I have a yoga class that includes cucumbers on my Hollywood eyes.
49 See you again.
50 Peace.
~H~
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