Over the past few days, I have come to the conclusion that anything having to do with farts or poop is just hysterical. Now, occasional colon blows are not fun (if you are the owner of the colon in question), but jokes or discussions about either will just never lose their sheen of sheer giggly goodness.
Just think how much less funny the world would be without fart jokes or insinuations.
Scatological humour. It just rocks.
Friday, February 29, 2008
Thursday, February 28, 2008
I am prolific today
So, I am waiting to teach my last evening class of the week (online style- which is really good as a new educational tool, but it too has its caveats- another day, another post), and I thought I would touch on some interesting websites I have seen recently.
1. www.storyofstuff.com- Admittedly, this site it not for all. Many will jeer and yell "tree hugger!" within 30 seconds, but, hey, it was interesting to view. The site is a 20 minute movie/cartoon about stuff- how it is made, produced, sold, consumed, and thrown out. It is a very brief history of "stuff" but it does bring up some good points to be aware of. I have found myself overwhelmed by stuff since we moved, and I think I could do with a lot less stuff, and this website sort of brought it home to me. Again, not for all.
2. www.irregularwebcomic.net- I love this site. A guy in Australia does a daily webcomic (it is not irregular- but if he forgets one day, well, the title does protect him! But I think that the content is more irregular...) using Legos and painted Dungeon and Dragon figures, which he positions, photographs, and photoshops. He has all types of difference threads (he mixes them up each day)- Indiana Jones, Steve Irwin, a modern Shakespeare, Death (one of my favorites), Mythbusters, and Dungeons and Dragons. Worth a look- there are almost 1900 comics, which you can access in an index. Beware! I got hooked and lost a few hours of my life back in December...But, what a clever idea!
3. 101 cookbooks- A new blog I have looked at, in which the author is trying out her cookbooks, instead of buying more. See, I love cookbooks too- but I keep making the same recipes and then buying new ones (just like this blog author does), so I guess it has inspired me to try new stuff- if we ever find the cookbooks in storage, that is!
4. the Minimalist blog on NyTimes- Mark Bittman. I like this guy, so reading about his food and his views of food is fun. I want to try his short ribs...yummm! I'm going to try to get his "How to Cook Everything Vegetarian" cookbook out of the library soon- while we are not veg in this household (in fact, one of us is pretty close to being a total carnivore if allowed), I always have a hard time spicing up veg side dishes or lunch dishes.
5. SCA- the Society for Creative Anachronism. People who have secret lives as Medieval people! I found this while trying to find some sewing ideas for togas/tunics (okay- yes, I was thinking of making one- but I teach Latin and its just to amuse the children. I don't need to reenact Rome with anyone...yet!) and stumbled onto their NE Pennsylvania chapter. Just give it a look.
That is all for now...I need to log on and get ready to talk about the joy of Sentence Completion sections and Short Passages based questions.
1. www.storyofstuff.com- Admittedly, this site it not for all. Many will jeer and yell "tree hugger!" within 30 seconds, but, hey, it was interesting to view. The site is a 20 minute movie/cartoon about stuff- how it is made, produced, sold, consumed, and thrown out. It is a very brief history of "stuff" but it does bring up some good points to be aware of. I have found myself overwhelmed by stuff since we moved, and I think I could do with a lot less stuff, and this website sort of brought it home to me. Again, not for all.
2. www.irregularwebcomic.net- I love this site. A guy in Australia does a daily webcomic (it is not irregular- but if he forgets one day, well, the title does protect him! But I think that the content is more irregular...) using Legos and painted Dungeon and Dragon figures, which he positions, photographs, and photoshops. He has all types of difference threads (he mixes them up each day)- Indiana Jones, Steve Irwin, a modern Shakespeare, Death (one of my favorites), Mythbusters, and Dungeons and Dragons. Worth a look- there are almost 1900 comics, which you can access in an index. Beware! I got hooked and lost a few hours of my life back in December...But, what a clever idea!
3. 101 cookbooks- A new blog I have looked at, in which the author is trying out her cookbooks, instead of buying more. See, I love cookbooks too- but I keep making the same recipes and then buying new ones (just like this blog author does), so I guess it has inspired me to try new stuff- if we ever find the cookbooks in storage, that is!
4. the Minimalist blog on NyTimes- Mark Bittman. I like this guy, so reading about his food and his views of food is fun. I want to try his short ribs...yummm! I'm going to try to get his "How to Cook Everything Vegetarian" cookbook out of the library soon- while we are not veg in this household (in fact, one of us is pretty close to being a total carnivore if allowed), I always have a hard time spicing up veg side dishes or lunch dishes.
5. SCA- the Society for Creative Anachronism. People who have secret lives as Medieval people! I found this while trying to find some sewing ideas for togas/tunics (okay- yes, I was thinking of making one- but I teach Latin and its just to amuse the children. I don't need to reenact Rome with anyone...yet!) and stumbled onto their NE Pennsylvania chapter. Just give it a look.
That is all for now...I need to log on and get ready to talk about the joy of Sentence Completion sections and Short Passages based questions.
Funny student moment..
One of my students did not know the meaning of the word "oblivious"- and you can maybe guess how I wanted to define it.
Just a funny moment.
Just a funny moment.
"Public Education"
I have been away much, but I have been busy. We are almost done unpacking and organizing (there is an end in sight!), and I have been fervently looking for a job each morning, as well as working the part-time one on the weekends and evenings.
On the job seeking aspect (and I'm sorry if this blog has become dreary- I hope my outlook will improve soon and will endeavor to turn my frown upside down)- not much doing. I may have the beat on a Latin job relatively close by for this year, as opposed to waiting until September to be employed. On the employment note, I will have to say that my views on certain issues have changed about due to my little family's financial situation (which is not dire, just new for me). We are now a single income household, making below what is really "needed" to live in the area. I provide only minimal income at the moment (and feel, as I may have already said, like useless baggage that only consumes. I am used to being employed. I guess one of the "new" views I have is that I am defining myself lately by my economic vitality- and since I have little to none of that, I have little or no worth to myself), and we have a rent that is more than we paid before, but still have a mortgage on a house that has been on the market only over a month (which the agents say is normal for the area and the time of year).
In light of this, the world looks a little different. Yeah, I shop only for food (we did buy some clothes recently, mainly for my husband since he needed them as Army uniforms don't work in corporate, and a few shirts for me to wear to interviews) and more carefully (if it isn't on sale or I don't have a coupon, it isn't in the cart. I am only allowed 3 items that are not on sale, and none can be above 5$, with only one preferably being close to 5$. I mostly buy cheese or olives, which are a pleasure in life. I also am now a Charles Shaw fan, since Trader Joe's is about 1 mile away). I, however, enjoy the frugal experience- it makes sense even in good times. I also don't miss clothes shopping or shopping for the house- I think I really just used to do it because I was bored. Mindless consumption is something I would like to purge from my existence (and yes, even on the book buying front- the library is a blessing that our government helps to fund). Also, I drive a lot less (not working helps this!) and tend to go out only when I have multiple places near each other. Gas is astronomically expensive! When the weather gets nice, I will walk to the stores more. As a suburban/rural inhabitant for most of my life, that is, again, an actually nice thing. So, some good, simple lessons learned and, moreover, appreciated.
One thing I have thought about is how would we ever be able to afford to educate anyone in our family, with this type of situation? I mean, mainly, post secondary (undergraduate or graduate level) education. Imagine this- we are still in the situation we are in and have a child who is a senior in high school. The kid is a good student, but only nabs a few academic scholarships worth maybe 1000$ a year. Where do you get the money to send them? I live in Virginia. So, let's look at public universities (since I am not even going to consider the private ones!) and assume that I do not want to take out lots of loans that either I will have to pay (assume I am still probably paying a mortgage) and that I refuse to burden my child with debt close to $100,000 when they graduate and look for their first job (unless they really want it! But still, it was not something I was raised to give my children):
Virginia State University, Petersburg, VA
Tuition (all in-state costs): $3, 186 - not too bad
Fees: $2,210- what? What are these "fees"? Shouldn't any "fees" be part of the tuition? Hmm..
Debt Service Fee: $259- I don't even know that this is!
Room: $4,249
Board: $3,091
Total: $12,995
Four years (assuming no increase, which is insane): $51,980- $4,000 (scholarship)= $47, 980
UVA, Charlottesville, VA
Tuition and Fees (they include them together!): $8, 690
Room and Board: $7, 435
Total: $16, 125
Four years (no increase): $64, 500- $4,000= $60, 500
George Mason University- which is near to where we live, so we will do this with Room and Board and without Room and Board: (sidenote- they do NOT have a site with all costs- you have to go to each department- Housing, Dining, and Financial to get costs):
Tuition: $3, 420 (some fees are added, some classes have a higher cost)
Room: ranges from $3, 410-$7, 410 per academic year (more for 12 months)
Board: $3,200 (average from dining plans)
Total with Room and Board: $10, 620 (I used $4,000 for Room)
Four years with Room and Board: $42,480- $4,000= $38, 480
Four years with no Room and Board (live at home, without home expense taken into consideration, however): $13, 680- $4,000= $9, 680
Hmmm...Looks like my kid is going to GMU and living at home. Not the best of worlds (I want my child to have the "college" years- they do force you to grow up a lot and are some of your best years).
So, the reason that I titled this blog "Public Education" is that "public" universities are not really that public- I have been searching for how much of the VA budget goes to higher ed (I haven't the time right now- lunch break is almost over! There is tons of info on budget reform, but no nice percentage I can throw up on this site from the state website. I will update if I can find it!), and then wonder how much really can go into it, with all else the government needs to fund (or pay themselves). So, maybe these schools *do* cost less overall (My school, an Ivy, would probably be over $200,000 for four years now- that $4,000 scholarship isn't going to help too much!), but now I understand more where a family making under $100, 000 per year would feel the crunch- especially when you may not be able to save very much or enough for more than one child. So, what is public about these schools? Do they serve the majority of the public or not? I need to think and research more.
I guess I am also very skeptical about public higher education coming from NJ, and having attended a public university there. There were/are too often professors or deans or politicians who held multiple, tax-paid positions in the government and the university, some of which were "nominal" positions. However, they got salaries, from taxes, for all positions (not low salaries either), as well as more than one pension from the state! So, how public is that university? Just to add to ITWOP and the very patriotic belief that we should question government and hold it accountable, or we should not call ourselves citizens.
So, another lesson learned from overthinking these last few weeks is savings. If my economic input does not pick up soon (and I admit, I may have to give up the profession I am best suited for, passionate about, and love), my real "honeymoon" that was planned (Europe- West to East) may be the retirement trip, and I have not seen Rome for nearly a decade, but
it may be another decade before I do. This is okay- because the future goals are more important than the vacation, and Virginia, even if it is not running very "public" institutions, has many places to explore.
Wow. This went all over the place!
On the job seeking aspect (and I'm sorry if this blog has become dreary- I hope my outlook will improve soon and will endeavor to turn my frown upside down)- not much doing. I may have the beat on a Latin job relatively close by for this year, as opposed to waiting until September to be employed. On the employment note, I will have to say that my views on certain issues have changed about due to my little family's financial situation (which is not dire, just new for me). We are now a single income household, making below what is really "needed" to live in the area. I provide only minimal income at the moment (and feel, as I may have already said, like useless baggage that only consumes. I am used to being employed. I guess one of the "new" views I have is that I am defining myself lately by my economic vitality- and since I have little to none of that, I have little or no worth to myself), and we have a rent that is more than we paid before, but still have a mortgage on a house that has been on the market only over a month (which the agents say is normal for the area and the time of year).
In light of this, the world looks a little different. Yeah, I shop only for food (we did buy some clothes recently, mainly for my husband since he needed them as Army uniforms don't work in corporate, and a few shirts for me to wear to interviews) and more carefully (if it isn't on sale or I don't have a coupon, it isn't in the cart. I am only allowed 3 items that are not on sale, and none can be above 5$, with only one preferably being close to 5$. I mostly buy cheese or olives, which are a pleasure in life. I also am now a Charles Shaw fan, since Trader Joe's is about 1 mile away). I, however, enjoy the frugal experience- it makes sense even in good times. I also don't miss clothes shopping or shopping for the house- I think I really just used to do it because I was bored. Mindless consumption is something I would like to purge from my existence (and yes, even on the book buying front- the library is a blessing that our government helps to fund). Also, I drive a lot less (not working helps this!) and tend to go out only when I have multiple places near each other. Gas is astronomically expensive! When the weather gets nice, I will walk to the stores more. As a suburban/rural inhabitant for most of my life, that is, again, an actually nice thing. So, some good, simple lessons learned and, moreover, appreciated.
One thing I have thought about is how would we ever be able to afford to educate anyone in our family, with this type of situation? I mean, mainly, post secondary (undergraduate or graduate level) education. Imagine this- we are still in the situation we are in and have a child who is a senior in high school. The kid is a good student, but only nabs a few academic scholarships worth maybe 1000$ a year. Where do you get the money to send them? I live in Virginia. So, let's look at public universities (since I am not even going to consider the private ones!) and assume that I do not want to take out lots of loans that either I will have to pay (assume I am still probably paying a mortgage) and that I refuse to burden my child with debt close to $100,000 when they graduate and look for their first job (unless they really want it! But still, it was not something I was raised to give my children):
Virginia State University, Petersburg, VA
Tuition (all in-state costs): $3, 186 - not too bad
Fees: $2,210- what? What are these "fees"? Shouldn't any "fees" be part of the tuition? Hmm..
Debt Service Fee: $259- I don't even know that this is!
Room: $4,249
Board: $3,091
Total: $12,995
Four years (assuming no increase, which is insane): $51,980- $4,000 (scholarship)= $47, 980
UVA, Charlottesville, VA
Tuition and Fees (they include them together!): $8, 690
Room and Board: $7, 435
Total: $16, 125
Four years (no increase): $64, 500- $4,000= $60, 500
George Mason University- which is near to where we live, so we will do this with Room and Board and without Room and Board: (sidenote- they do NOT have a site with all costs- you have to go to each department- Housing, Dining, and Financial to get costs):
Tuition: $3, 420 (some fees are added, some classes have a higher cost)
Room: ranges from $3, 410-$7, 410 per academic year (more for 12 months)
Board: $3,200 (average from dining plans)
Total with Room and Board: $10, 620 (I used $4,000 for Room)
Four years with Room and Board: $42,480- $4,000= $38, 480
Four years with no Room and Board (live at home, without home expense taken into consideration, however): $13, 680- $4,000= $9, 680
Hmmm...Looks like my kid is going to GMU and living at home. Not the best of worlds (I want my child to have the "college" years- they do force you to grow up a lot and are some of your best years).
So, the reason that I titled this blog "Public Education" is that "public" universities are not really that public- I have been searching for how much of the VA budget goes to higher ed (I haven't the time right now- lunch break is almost over! There is tons of info on budget reform, but no nice percentage I can throw up on this site from the state website. I will update if I can find it!), and then wonder how much really can go into it, with all else the government needs to fund (or pay themselves). So, maybe these schools *do* cost less overall (My school, an Ivy, would probably be over $200,000 for four years now- that $4,000 scholarship isn't going to help too much!), but now I understand more where a family making under $100, 000 per year would feel the crunch- especially when you may not be able to save very much or enough for more than one child. So, what is public about these schools? Do they serve the majority of the public or not? I need to think and research more.
I guess I am also very skeptical about public higher education coming from NJ, and having attended a public university there. There were/are too often professors or deans or politicians who held multiple, tax-paid positions in the government and the university, some of which were "nominal" positions. However, they got salaries, from taxes, for all positions (not low salaries either), as well as more than one pension from the state! So, how public is that university? Just to add to ITWOP and the very patriotic belief that we should question government and hold it accountable, or we should not call ourselves citizens.
So, another lesson learned from overthinking these last few weeks is savings. If my economic input does not pick up soon (and I admit, I may have to give up the profession I am best suited for, passionate about, and love), my real "honeymoon" that was planned (Europe- West to East) may be the retirement trip, and I have not seen Rome for nearly a decade, but
it may be another decade before I do. This is okay- because the future goals are more important than the vacation, and Virginia, even if it is not running very "public" institutions, has many places to explore.
Wow. This went all over the place!
Monday, February 4, 2008
I hate politics.
So, reading through all the various news sources (Reuters, Post, Times, Fox, Slate, Salon, BBC), I realize that I hate politics, and that it makes me sad. Again, you will note that I am heavily leaning towards the idealist "we can make this work" mentality (you have to have this being a public servant/teacher to make it through, or, you cannot have it, and then you just get really bitter)- I wish I didn't have to feel this way. I do, however, and not much is going to change.
Case in point- why do so many people feel "excited" that they have the choice between a woman or a black president? Who cares? If you were raised to believe that sexism or racism were bad things, and that you should never judge a person by their race/gender, why is it a huge factor now? Does it only mean that we can judge them on their race or gender, only when they do "good" things or make "progress"? Isn't that a little pejorative? Good -insert gender/race- person! You did it! Good for you! It sounds insulting to me, and I am one of the genders in discussion.
I think, given the times and situations we live in, that the choice for president should be the best one to handle the major issues. I don't mean every issue, because, as I posted before, you can't please a majority of people, no matter how hard you try. I don't care about the "historical" nature of this race- I suppose that this is where I am not the idealist of the earlier paragraphs- I am more concerned with the reality of the world right now. We are at war (married to a man who was in the war makes it more real- and the fact that we get the Army Times, and they list the American dead with their pictures each week. That should be done in all newspapers [and I don't give a shit if that isn't the sort of thing that "sells"- journalists need to go back and reassess what their role is, outside of money-maker], so that maybe the millions of Americans who aren't related to a soldier and aren't really effected by the war could at least remember that there is one) and our economy/internal affairs needs some work. Talk about those issues, and I don't care what you look like! Electing a woman or black man for history's sake is a weak argument. If they are qualified to deal with the big issues, bring it on!
Also- why is it in the best interest of the world to promote liberal, pluralistic democracies? Pluralistic= various religious/tribal/racial groups living together. I know partition is a bad idea, but is it any better to force people with deep-rooted hatred to get along? Can you, or will it erupt every now and then? I mean, in the US, while we tend to get along among all of our different groups, we all do tend to live among people who are similar to us, either in race, religion, and income. I guess this is in response to some of what I have been reading about Kenya and Iraq. Okay- enough of this post. It is rather disorganized and rambling, and maybe I will fix or expand later.
Case in point- why do so many people feel "excited" that they have the choice between a woman or a black president? Who cares? If you were raised to believe that sexism or racism were bad things, and that you should never judge a person by their race/gender, why is it a huge factor now? Does it only mean that we can judge them on their race or gender, only when they do "good" things or make "progress"? Isn't that a little pejorative? Good -insert gender/race- person! You did it! Good for you! It sounds insulting to me, and I am one of the genders in discussion.
I think, given the times and situations we live in, that the choice for president should be the best one to handle the major issues. I don't mean every issue, because, as I posted before, you can't please a majority of people, no matter how hard you try. I don't care about the "historical" nature of this race- I suppose that this is where I am not the idealist of the earlier paragraphs- I am more concerned with the reality of the world right now. We are at war (married to a man who was in the war makes it more real- and the fact that we get the Army Times, and they list the American dead with their pictures each week. That should be done in all newspapers [and I don't give a shit if that isn't the sort of thing that "sells"- journalists need to go back and reassess what their role is, outside of money-maker], so that maybe the millions of Americans who aren't related to a soldier and aren't really effected by the war could at least remember that there is one) and our economy/internal affairs needs some work. Talk about those issues, and I don't care what you look like! Electing a woman or black man for history's sake is a weak argument. If they are qualified to deal with the big issues, bring it on!
Also- why is it in the best interest of the world to promote liberal, pluralistic democracies? Pluralistic= various religious/tribal/racial groups living together. I know partition is a bad idea, but is it any better to force people with deep-rooted hatred to get along? Can you, or will it erupt every now and then? I mean, in the US, while we tend to get along among all of our different groups, we all do tend to live among people who are similar to us, either in race, religion, and income. I guess this is in response to some of what I have been reading about Kenya and Iraq. Okay- enough of this post. It is rather disorganized and rambling, and maybe I will fix or expand later.
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