I mentioned this once before, but I’ll mention it again just to serve as a small disclaimer. I do not follow politics, nor do I follow the news. I find both to be overbearingly dreadful. As I stated, no one really trusts the government, so I just assume that whatever they are saying is a pack of lies. The news is so fraught with peril and chaos that I’d rather not watch it because it paints an unrealistic view of the world. I am not so naïve as to believe that the world is all puppies and rainbows. Far from it. I witness some real brilliance and Christian behavior working retail. Did my sarcasm come across on that last sentence? I know horrible things happen every day in every part of the world. Probably at a higher percentage rate than it should be. For every one atrocity that occurs, there are at least a handful of positive occurrences. In a single one-hour news program, the audience is bombarded by images of death, mayhem, war, violence, drugs, scandal, poisoned toys, defective cars, and pandemic scares. Amidst all of that they might squeeze in ten seconds (probably less) of a happy side. Usually called “The lighter side of the news” or some such BS. This generally features some animal doing something mildy cute. So, I have no use for the news or politics. Can you guess my thoughts on CNN, CSPAN, Fox News, and the like? Give me The Daily Show and Colbert Report any day.
That was a longer disclaimer than I planned. My rant has nothing to do the news we receive as much as it has to do with something I read about in the paper. The ONLY reason I read this little clipping was because my hometown was featured in the headline.
No, it was not a serial killer truck driver, or someone beating their kids with a hammer (not this time at least). My old high school just let go 27 people due to lack of state funding. Our Governor, in his wisdom (it seems the state of Illinois is going through a rough patch with Governors the past…what? century?) decided that the best place to make cuts to make up for a large deficit in funding was education. All politicians say how the schools are so important, but then when cuts need to me made, that’s where they occur. How about we cut politician salaries? Nope, can’t do that. Let’s just give the students a marginal education and send them out into the world where they might get stuck with a marginal career.
As a part of this slice and dice, all first year teachers were let go, as well as the principal. Pretty much any non-tenured faculty were let go. Stipends for extra-curricular (like sports) were eliminated. This means that anyone who coaches a sport will be doing it for free. Understandably, these coaches are mad and will probably refuse to coach. So, essentially, sports are gone. My problem with this is that the kids are being punished. I am NOT a sports fan. Ask anyone who went to school with me. I do know that some kids enjoy sports. Now, the biggest issue I have with this is that everyone is looking at the loss of money for coaching and not what would be best for the kids. Refusing to volunteer time so the kids can play some basketball sends the wrong message. That tells the kids that money is what is important, not you or what you enjoy. I always thought that extra-curriculars should be ran by teachers that enjoyed it (I know, sponsoring something is a requirement in most schools, so some teachers just pick something to get it over with.) Now that they are not getting paid to coach, it will be evident who did it for enjoyment, and who did it for the stipend. What I want to say to these tenured teachers who still have jobs, but lost their stipend is this: Be thankful you still have a job!! I bet any one of those first year or non-tenured teachers would gladly coach for free if it meant keeping their job. So, quit your bitching, be glad you are still gainfully employed, and do the right thing: let the kids have their sports and other extra-curricular activities. No doubt most of them are pissed and heart broken about losing some their favorite teachers and at the prospect of losing a past time they enjoy. The cuts will be hard on the schools, and on the administrators, and on the teachers, and the tax payers (this is where I come in) but it should not be hard on the students. They deserve to have the best education, and their experience during their formative years should be as fulfilling as possible. Are they going to but school dances next? What about lunch and breakfast? How much can be taken away before someone gets really mad?
To all of you students let me remind you that you have a Constitutional Right to the freedom of assembly. Don’t be afraid to let your voices be heard, just do so in a peaceful, non-vulgar way. Host a sit in or something. Be warned, you will get crap for it, and probably earn the ire of your teachers, but they need to know how you feel about all of this. How many of you went to the school board meeting? Did you say anything? Have you written to your senator, representative, or the Governor? Let me be clear – I am not saying to riot, or vandalize anything. I do not condone that. Find a peaceful, eloquent, calm way in which to express your opinion. The less it hurts anyone, the better.
I am not even living in this district, and I am upset by it based on principle. By all rights, I should be teaching at a high school but I am not (again, politics I have no use for). I guess it is a good thing that I haven’t landed a teaching job yet because I would now be unemployed. I am bothered by it because I know people who are affected by this more than I am. It is for them that I go on this tirade. That, and to vent and get it off my chest.
As usual, that’s just my opinion. I could be wrong.
--
Last Quote: Trick ‘r Treat
Today’s Quote: “What are you people? On dope?”
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Sunday, March 14, 2010
Trick 'r Treat
It’s not often that I decide to review things on this blog. In an attempt to try and post something here on a regular basis, I’ve decided to review a movie, book, or cd from time to time.
I recently watched Trick ‘r Treat and I must say I was pleased with it. I remember when there were previews for this movie a few years ago, then it faded away and I never heard much about it until the DVD release. It sat on my netflix queue for a long time before I finally got around to it.
The concept is far from original, but I think that is part of its appeal. It reminds me of Creepshow, Tales from the Darkside, and Twilight Zone. The stories in this movie intersect and overlap. There are interesting twists to most of the stories, some a little predictable, others not so much. I don’t want to spoil it for anyone, so be warned.
Anna Paquin dressed as Little Red Riding Hood being attacked by a supposed vampire in the woods (ala the Big Bad Wolf). The identity of her attacker and the twist to this story (in my opinion) made the movie.
There were other great performances from the likes of Dylan Baker (Spiderman’s Dr. Connors) and Brian Cox ( X-Men 2, Bourne Identity). The two characters are neighbors and their stories happen at almost the same moment. Brian Cox was great as a bitter old man with a shotgun and a dark past.
What Halloween movie would be complete without a group of mean spirited kids? There is a town legend about a bus driver paid to drive the short bus into a rock quarry while all of the kids are chained inside. This story is told by one little bitch wearing an angel costume (funny? right?) in an attempt to scare another little girl they call “Rhonda the Retard (aren’t kids nice). They befriend her, and take her to the quarry to scare the crap out of her. They succeed, but it backfires horribly for them. I really couldn’t blame her for leaving them there to die.
It is an enjoyable film so long as you go into it expecting a typical Halloween flick. There are critics out there who hate anything that it not an art film, or has some major social commentary to make. They need to get over themselves. Movies are meant to entertain and allow us to escape our lives for a brief moment. Horror films are always great because our lives look so much better in comparison. So, if you are a film snob, take time to allow yourself some mindless fun. If you loved Creepshow, definitely give this one a try!
---
Last Quote: Batman (1989)
Today's Quote: "Charlie Brown is an asshole!"
I recently watched Trick ‘r Treat and I must say I was pleased with it. I remember when there were previews for this movie a few years ago, then it faded away and I never heard much about it until the DVD release. It sat on my netflix queue for a long time before I finally got around to it.
The concept is far from original, but I think that is part of its appeal. It reminds me of Creepshow, Tales from the Darkside, and Twilight Zone. The stories in this movie intersect and overlap. There are interesting twists to most of the stories, some a little predictable, others not so much. I don’t want to spoil it for anyone, so be warned.
Anna Paquin dressed as Little Red Riding Hood being attacked by a supposed vampire in the woods (ala the Big Bad Wolf). The identity of her attacker and the twist to this story (in my opinion) made the movie.
There were other great performances from the likes of Dylan Baker (Spiderman’s Dr. Connors) and Brian Cox ( X-Men 2, Bourne Identity). The two characters are neighbors and their stories happen at almost the same moment. Brian Cox was great as a bitter old man with a shotgun and a dark past.
What Halloween movie would be complete without a group of mean spirited kids? There is a town legend about a bus driver paid to drive the short bus into a rock quarry while all of the kids are chained inside. This story is told by one little bitch wearing an angel costume (funny? right?) in an attempt to scare another little girl they call “Rhonda the Retard (aren’t kids nice). They befriend her, and take her to the quarry to scare the crap out of her. They succeed, but it backfires horribly for them. I really couldn’t blame her for leaving them there to die.
It is an enjoyable film so long as you go into it expecting a typical Halloween flick. There are critics out there who hate anything that it not an art film, or has some major social commentary to make. They need to get over themselves. Movies are meant to entertain and allow us to escape our lives for a brief moment. Horror films are always great because our lives look so much better in comparison. So, if you are a film snob, take time to allow yourself some mindless fun. If you loved Creepshow, definitely give this one a try!
---
Last Quote: Batman (1989)
Today's Quote: "Charlie Brown is an asshole!"
Monday, March 8, 2010
Trust
There has been a noticeable lack of blogs from me of late, mainly due to time constraints. As the walrus spake (no one outside of my hometown will get this, and even then, probably only a few will actually get this joke) “Time is my enemy, it steals my creativity.”
That is certainly true to a point, but the main reason I’ve relented on ranting is that I’ve had a major lack of subject matter. Nothing has really struck a chord with me to the point I felt that I needed to express my views. Obviously something has changed; otherwise I would not even bother putting energy into this.
What changed? A news article I read on Yahoo! News. I tried to find it so I could quote it exactly, but it was yesterday’s news and exact quotes were not important enough to me to dig around on the interweb to find them. Therefore, I will paraphrase where I see fit.
On to the issue: Trust.
I’m not talking about trusting one another (although one could make a point in favor of it, but fat lot of good that will do) I’m taking about trusting the one thing we are supposed to trust – our government.
Was there ever a time when the people of this country had blind faith in their leaders? Probably before the internet and free information 24/7. Even then, I think we’d have to go back to the first few days of this country’s existence to see that faith before it dissipated.
Every day we are told by our government officials to trust in them. It’s an easy enough request, after all they were voted in by the people, so one would think they would keep the people’s best interests at heart. Where did it all go wrong?
The news article I read was addressing the health care reform that has been the bane of our existence since the start of Obama’s first term. I’m not going to get into that issue. Too much ground to cover and I’ll admit that I do not know enough to present a coherent argument. What the news article did say was that Obama was asking the House and Senate to “trust him.”
Do they or will they? Not according to what the article said later. One Representative said that they would be willing to work with the Senate on this bill, but that they cannot trust the Senate to keep their end of the bargain.
So, we are expected to trust our government when our government doesn’t even trust itself. Anyone else see a problem with that?
If they want the trust of the people back they need to start doing good for the people, and cut out the bargaining, favors, earmarks, and all other back-scratching BS and do the job we elected them for.
On a related note: I feel that most of D.C. is out of touch with the real America. Most of them have been up there so long they’ve forgotten what real life is like. So I propose a new reality show that will last (in the very least) a full year. During that year, they will not have access to their bank accounts, money, or houses (or anything else that sets them apart from the majority of Americans) ALL of the politicians (House, Senate, Cabinet, etc…) will no longer be in office, and will be forced to go out and get a real minimum wage job with a shitty apartment where they will have to live paycheck to paycheck just to pay bills and live. This should give them a proper view of what Americans go through every day (especially in this economy). Once that year is up, they can return to Washington and do their damn job the way they are supposed to. To quote Dennis Miller: Of course, that just my opinion. I could be wrong.
Last quote: Batman: Mask of the Phantasm
Today’s quote: “ And now, folks, it's time for "Who do you trust!" Hubba, hubba, hubba! Money, money, money! Who do you trust? Me? I'm giving away free money.”
That is certainly true to a point, but the main reason I’ve relented on ranting is that I’ve had a major lack of subject matter. Nothing has really struck a chord with me to the point I felt that I needed to express my views. Obviously something has changed; otherwise I would not even bother putting energy into this.
What changed? A news article I read on Yahoo! News. I tried to find it so I could quote it exactly, but it was yesterday’s news and exact quotes were not important enough to me to dig around on the interweb to find them. Therefore, I will paraphrase where I see fit.
On to the issue: Trust.
I’m not talking about trusting one another (although one could make a point in favor of it, but fat lot of good that will do) I’m taking about trusting the one thing we are supposed to trust – our government.
Was there ever a time when the people of this country had blind faith in their leaders? Probably before the internet and free information 24/7. Even then, I think we’d have to go back to the first few days of this country’s existence to see that faith before it dissipated.
Every day we are told by our government officials to trust in them. It’s an easy enough request, after all they were voted in by the people, so one would think they would keep the people’s best interests at heart. Where did it all go wrong?
The news article I read was addressing the health care reform that has been the bane of our existence since the start of Obama’s first term. I’m not going to get into that issue. Too much ground to cover and I’ll admit that I do not know enough to present a coherent argument. What the news article did say was that Obama was asking the House and Senate to “trust him.”
Do they or will they? Not according to what the article said later. One Representative said that they would be willing to work with the Senate on this bill, but that they cannot trust the Senate to keep their end of the bargain.
So, we are expected to trust our government when our government doesn’t even trust itself. Anyone else see a problem with that?
If they want the trust of the people back they need to start doing good for the people, and cut out the bargaining, favors, earmarks, and all other back-scratching BS and do the job we elected them for.
On a related note: I feel that most of D.C. is out of touch with the real America. Most of them have been up there so long they’ve forgotten what real life is like. So I propose a new reality show that will last (in the very least) a full year. During that year, they will not have access to their bank accounts, money, or houses (or anything else that sets them apart from the majority of Americans) ALL of the politicians (House, Senate, Cabinet, etc…) will no longer be in office, and will be forced to go out and get a real minimum wage job with a shitty apartment where they will have to live paycheck to paycheck just to pay bills and live. This should give them a proper view of what Americans go through every day (especially in this economy). Once that year is up, they can return to Washington and do their damn job the way they are supposed to. To quote Dennis Miller: Of course, that just my opinion. I could be wrong.
Last quote: Batman: Mask of the Phantasm
Today’s quote: “ And now, folks, it's time for "Who do you trust!" Hubba, hubba, hubba! Money, money, money! Who do you trust? Me? I'm giving away free money.”
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