Member: geneg

Thanks for your super review of The Bostonians, one of my favourite James novels. As you say, it's all about control.
Looking forward to reading more reviews from you!

posted by tomcatMurr at 10:15 pm (EST) on Dec 12, 2009

Gene:

You might introduce yourself to Ganeshaka, who recently moved to Wheeling, from Alaska, of all places.

posted by copyedit52 at 12:29 pm (EST) on Dec 12, 2009

Excuse me, geneg, I "misspoke," a few posts earlier: gener is from Tucson. I see you're from Plano. Wherever that is.

posted by copyedit52 at 4:54 pm (EST) on Dec 10, 2009

Joseph Conrad at The end of the Tether
Lost it when he heard about Almeyer's Folly
Causing him to unleash the Secret Agent

Finding the Nigger of the Narcissus
At the center of The Heart of Darkness
Nearly cost Lord Jim his Youth.

Tell us another tale, Marlowe.

this is good man !!

posted by Macumbeira at 12:13 pm (EST) on Dec 6, 2009

I have thought about doing that. Levon is a good guy, and a good citizen hereabouts. But I haven't bestirred myself to do it. I should.

posted by copyedit52 at 1:58 pm (EST) on Dec 4, 2009

Well, okay: another brisk morning. Made me think of you there in Tucson. There is something to be said for warmth, even if the view sucks.

posted by copyedit52 at 10:04 am (EST) on Dec 4, 2009

I immediately thought of you when I read that Wall Street bankers were arming themselves! http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=2...

One just can't make this stuff up!

Marg {:>

posted by margd at 10:13 am (EST) on Dec 1, 2009

Crap! I did send that as private, didn't I?

posted by Makifat at 3:41 pm (EST) on Nov 19, 2009

I'll let you in on a little secret, Gene. I'm an interdimensional traveller from the future...

posted by Makifat at 3:41 pm (EST) on Nov 19, 2009

No snarkiness was perceived!

posted by Carnophile at 5:01 pm (EST) on Oct 22, 2009

Hey. Forwarded to Abby, social Czar. We're thinking about the issue generally. Thanks for the note.

posted by timspalding at 11:03 am (EST) on Oct 9, 2009

Gene:

"I'm old fashioned, I guess, just give me straight ahead story telling."

YES YES YES

I have come across your comments many times before, but the above just reverberated with me so much. I have sent you a Friends invitation as a result. My daughter is a Nabokov nut, and has tried to convince me many times, quite unsuccessfully. Much recent literature is so self-referential, so cutesy, so "look at my cleverness" and I hate it. That is why I even read genre fiction, which many sneer at, but if done well, does exactly what it sets out to do, while telling a story.

I think we have much in common and many good discussions ahead.

Andrew

posted by polutropos at 3:32 pm (EST) on Sep 29, 2009

Geneg,

You are such a generous person. I visited Bookcrossing and i was amazed that the concept is about leaving your books behind so that a person can have lot's of joy from it. In my opinion that is quite something to admire and believe me i am a bookoholic and couldn't even bare the idea that i have to return a book to the library after reading it. So i get my books at this moment mostly from the flea market. Well, eh well done ; ) !!

posted by berouwkatje at 4:31 pm (EST) on Aug 10, 2009

You seem to be currently reading or have read books that are absolute favorites of mine! Every time I log in here, I see some reading post of yours that I can do nothing about but fangirl and effuse about. So. There you are. Make of that what you will.

posted by sylvan_eyre at 4:52 pm (EST) on Aug 4, 2009

in Beggars the urchin was supposed be cajun, and that dialect which has that odd subj/verb placement emphasis was, at least before TV, more or less as presented. Is the protagonist in Stars from Southern Louisiana? James Burke's Louisiana mysteries, which are set in the present, has a couple of ongoing characters speaking w/ a Cajun dialect.

I'll ask my sister who's been an AP reporter based in NOrleans since ~1977 if she still runs into people using cajun or if it's become a literary anachronism. Or if the usage has been obviously decreasing over time.

posted by bobmcconnaughey at 9:24 pm (EST) on Jul 9, 2009

Thanks geneg, much obliged.

posted by rankamateur at 6:31 pm (EST) on Jul 1, 2009

Re: Confederate secession

You might enjoy this scathing satire...

http://www.csathemovie.com/

posted by Makifat at 12:19 pm (EST) on Jun 11, 2009

Wow, that would be quite a project. What song would I arrange my books to?

posted by inaudible at 11:53 am (EST) on Jun 4, 2009

Gene: My dear fellow, I missed your comment, it completely slipped through the cracks. But I have just made amends. Ya know I love hearing from you and your comments are spot-on for this old boy. Apologies all around.

posted by CliffBurns at 10:17 pm (EST) on May 27, 2009

As far as Michael Savage himself is concerned, the best place for him is in a row-boat in the middle of the Atlantic unable to land anywhere.

A splendid idea! Maybe Oakes would like to join him. Savage-Weiner could regale him with stories of his naked gambols on the beach with Allen Ginsberg. Might give our Mr. Spalding a different view on "free speech".

posted by Makifat at 10:44 am (EST) on May 13, 2009

I was thinking of something else, which was the institution of religion (the practices of religious institutions and/or political entities that claim a basis in religion) rather than the meaning that can be derived from core beliefs; that the Reformation and secular culture that developed from the Enlightenment fundamentally changed the way religion functioned in the public sphere and, ultimately, contributed to the reduction of dogmatism and violence that was associated with Christian practices in the Middle Ages (note: reduction, not elimination).

posted by theoria at 6:04 pm (EST) on Apr 20, 2009

I'm not going to get involved in the silly conservative pissing contest on pro/con, but regarding your comment about failed religion: would we not say the same thing about Christianity if the following two events hadn't happened: the Protestant Reformation and the rise of secular values? The latter event would seem to have nothing to do with religion per se other than being a reaction to wars of religion.

posted by theoria at 2:10 pm (EST) on Apr 20, 2009

Thank you for accepting my friends invitation. I hope my profile gave you some new insights into Volney, Jefferson and Franco-American history. I will be glad to answer any questions you might have regarding Volney, his views, or book purchases. All Zee Best, TCW

posted by ThomasCWilliams at 11:40 pm (EST) on Apr 11, 2009

Thanks for pointing him out for me. I went straight to his labrary and found him interesting. I do read a lot, diffent topics. Ibsen og Hamsun are my favourite authors. Then Sigrid Undset is interesting too. I will asap pay my fee. I have not read anything within scifi. Regards Kirsten-Lund

posted by kirsten-lund at 6:59 am (EST) on Apr 10, 2009

Hei! I read your note. Nice to met you. No I do not know kjellika. Bodø is fare north of Haugesund (between Bergen and Stavanger). Why do you ask? Kirsten-Lund

posted by kirsten-lund at 5:17 pm (EST) on Apr 9, 2009

whinge

Verb. To persistently complain, in an irritating manner. {Informal}
Noun. To act in the manner of the verb. {Informal}.

From a UK slang website:

http://www.peevish.co.uk/slang/index.htm

posted by kswolff at 4:52 pm (EST) on Apr 7, 2009

You and I have a pretty cool shared books list, if I say so myself.

On another topic, what's with your review of "The Best of the Bible: 365 Inspirational Daily Devotions…"? There's nothing where the review should be.

posted by Carnophile at 8:21 pm (EST) on Mar 17, 2009

Gene - i knew what you were attempting to get across to mr interlocator; it's that cyops takes any denigration of his goddess as virtual or actual bookburning.

posted by bobmcconnaughey at 2:20 pm (EST) on Mar 16, 2009

Hope you like Horus Rising. I've read the first 3 volumes of the series and was highly entertained. The Horus Heresy series is also nice because it gives you a little pre-history (the setting is 30K). The Horus Heresy was a pivotal act of political and military treason and runs through the rest of the Warhammer 40K universe like a combination of the American Civil War, World War 2, and the European religious wars. Plus Dan Abnett knows how to write a gripping sci fi pot-boiler.

posted by kswolff at 2:14 pm (EST) on Feb 21, 2009

Anything by Dan Abnett is a good place to start. Also check out if the bookstore has any omnibus editions. "The Founding" is the first 3 novels of the Gaunt's Ghosts franchise. There are also omnibus editions of various Space Marine chapters. Hope these help!

posted by kswolff at 12:15 pm (EST) on Feb 20, 2009

Hi - Had to check your profile because everyone was commenting on the cheery new photo.

When you finish The Deerslayer, you should also read (if you haven't already) Mark Twain's extended snit of a book review, titled Fenimore Cooper's Literary Offenses. It is hysterically funny.

posted by oregonobsessionz at 9:30 pm (EST) on Jan 28, 2009

Just saw your post over at Literary Snobs. Plano, eh? I grew up there. I lived there until 1978. My parents stayed awhile longer before retiring a bit further west. I make it back to Texas with my family once or twice a year to visit my folks and my many other relatives that live in the area. Rarely go to Plano, though. It's entirely different from when I lived there.

Oh, and the new bookstore you described sounds awful.

Teresa

posted by theaelizabet at 1:21 pm (EST) on Jan 21, 2009

Something (further off-topic) on the subject of crime. This is VERY interesting:

http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/com...

posted by CliffBurns at 1:19 pm (EST) on Jan 15, 2009

Best in 2009, chum! A pleasure to know ya...

posted by CliffBurns at 10:22 pm (EST) on Jan 6, 2009

Like the new profile photo, Gene!

posted by CliffBurns at 11:04 am (EST) on Jan 6, 2009

geneg

my ny jets are sinking rapidly...ugggh...

if you ever wish to send me updates on your reading of David Copperfield i would love to hear how you progress. i think it a magnificent book.

yes and yes again for Obama. i hope along with everyone else, but can he drag/push the country out of its current situation? time will tell.

urquhart

posted by Urquhart at 8:57 pm (EST) on Dec 5, 2008

Hi again - Wow! It's nice having my opinion validated by someone whose opinions I respect. Most of my opinion is intuition with years of reading and listening to NPR thrown in for the facts I base my opinions on, but you put all the facts out there and make it so logical and coherent. I really enjoy reading your posts, wherever I find them.

To answer your second post, yes, that's my house. I live between Pittsboro and Siler City about 2 miles off the main route. I'm not working today (bad reason - we're taking some unpaid days off through the end of the year because things are tight in the automotive supplier biz but love having the time off) and was sitting here LTing and thought that it would be a good idea to put a new season-appropriate picture of my house on my profile page. So about an hour ago I walked out, took some pics and used the one now on the profile page. It's warm today - in the mid-70s - and the colors are beautiful. I love living out here. Being from LA, I like the rural environment, quiet, and ability to isolate when we want and be around people when we want.

My 15-year-old daughter goes to Camp Seafarer every year - 2008 was her 9th year, so we're very familiar with where the Neuse empties into the Pamlico. My daughter has done quite a bit of sailing there. Are you from Arapahoe or a smaller town nearby? My husband went to Seagull when HE was a boy, so it's a tradition now. I envy both of them for the experiences I've heard about.

See you around!

posted by karenmarie at 2:41 pm (EST) on Nov 7, 2008

I just joined the New Hampshire group, saw your message to turbosaab, and am wondering how anyone could mistake you for a libertarian! It put a smile on my face, though.

posted by Carnophile at 6:27 pm (EST) on Nov 2, 2008

The message you left me was absolutely beautiful. I'm an atheist; but I believe my Aristotelian tendencies make up for that. As much as I disagree with metaphysics I believe that humans do have an ultimate purpose, I believe that there is an ultimate good.

My professor is a pragmatist and when I first came to college (by then I had already read After Virtue) I had long discussions with my professor about reconciling pragmatism with Aristotelianism; but he would always refuse. Finally, though, I found a way to convince him after a year. When I was first putting together a coherent understanding of my project I finally said, "But I don't want to give up Aristotle" and explained to him my position. That was the first time he fully understood my argument and how I was trying to reconcile pragmatism with Aristotle.

So, in an ironic way you and I agree with each other. But the reconcilation, our understanding of the becoming truth, fails to be captured by words. I feel that the connection we made (including Arctic) is more than can be contained by words alone; it's just a state of being. At the risk of sounding contradictory: it just is.

posted by bigal123 at 8:40 pm (EST) on Oct 18, 2008

I just posted a couple of comments in the "Gods will, the natural and the real..." thread. If you want, I can email you the paper I sent to my professor, who's advising me during my book writing process.

posted by bigal123 at 4:36 pm (EST) on Oct 18, 2008

This would be a good time for that lawyer person who used to frequent LT, don't remember the name. The one that always confused legal with moral.

You're probably thinking of member enthymeme.

http://www.librarything.com/profile.php?...

- Bob

posted by AsYouKnow_Bob at 12:55 pm (EST) on Oct 18, 2008

Well, I'm certainly glad that you are not too opinionated. ;-)

I do believe that you are right about ignoring passages that doctrines don't like. Happens on all sides of the aisle. Also. "Cut and Paste" has been going on since the NT was written, at least. All those prophecies in Matthew are C&P from the OT, and Paul and the other epistle writers do it, too. so, a biblical practice?

If I didn't already know you were RC, I could have guessed from your exchange about the being at odds with your church leaders. Just about every Catholic I know has that same thing going on. Some protestants, too, but then they just leave the church and go somewhere else. You've got a different thing going on in the RC.

thanks for sharing.

Saxhorn

posted by saxhorn at 4:19 pm (EST) on Oct 16, 2008

Gene, a question from our most recent posts in the Christianity group.

Would you consider yourself a moderate or a liberal Christian? You accept the Bible as the word of God, and I think in some way inspired (but not inerrant. Your faith seems to be important to you, and in many respects traditional.

So, just curious.

Saxhorn

posted by saxhorn at 2:36 pm (EST) on Oct 16, 2008

You'd have abroad audience, actually. People do not really like the more authortarian aspects of the left or right. I believe most Americans are basically libertarian. They're not Ayn Rand-Robert Nozick libertarian, but they don't like people bossing them around. Yet for unfortunate political economy reasons we get a lot of people bossing us around.

posted by Carnophile at 5:40 pm (EST) on Oct 15, 2008

Tommy, can you hear me?

posted by Carnophile at 5:34 pm (EST) on Oct 15, 2008

Thank you for joining Pro and Con (Religion). I hope this is a place where the comfortable are afflicted and the afflicted are comforted. Let’s go it with all seriousness, but I hope we can have great fun at the same time. If I were God, I would part the waters of distance, and instantly transport us all to this great pub I used to frequent in Germany with a group of other Auslanders, but alas, I am but a lowly mortal, and so we have to do this via the internet.

All I ask is that every one remain respectful, even if there are times when you are spewing your coffee over the screen.

posted by Arctic-Stranger at 2:38 pm (EST) on Oct 2, 2008

Actually we're from the PA part of WVa (SW PA - known as Pennsyltucky in some circles) - we refer to the PA county just south of us (the Southest-Westest one) as WVa's "secret" county (they hid it in a different state). Luckily, radiowaves cross state-lines 'cause Pittsburgh's NPR station (WDUQ) is usually Jazz when I am able to listen. Where're yunz guys from?

posted by PortiaLong at 10:09 pm (EST) on Sep 29, 2008

P.S. I've been a Dallas Cowboys fan since the days of Roger Staubach. He was one of my childhood heroes. Ah, for a return to the days of he and Tony Dorsett in the backfield...

posted by CliffBurns at 12:34 pm (EST) on Sep 29, 2008

even in earlier grades. For a few years i helped out w/ occasional geography "lessons" in a friend's 5th grade class. We did projects like mental mapping (ie having each kid rate each state as 0,1,2,3 (dislike, "don't care", good, love) and created a composite map of the class's view of the US..NC was the fav..w/ other SE states doing well, of course. But the big surprise was Nevada being the 2nd favorite state that year...~ 1981..the year UNLV won the NCAA mens bball title. Or walking around our small town and each kid mapping/locating places that were important to them. Did contour mapping by having a small (aterproof) contour 3d model and filling it w/ diff. amounts of water and comparing the maps they drew to the physical model. Had aerial photos of Pittsboro and Chatham and the USGS contour maps and road maps and looked to see how they showed different ways of looking at the same "ground."
When i taught intro human/social geography @ UNC for a bit, my working defn. of geography was "the social history of space" w/ history being the "social history of time" and then interweaving the two. One of the neat things about geography is that it can be meshed w/ so many other fields...geology, history, transportation, social processes, health/disease, environmental issues, urban structure/planning...Even though now i mostly do straight epidemiology, even there i get to do odd bits of geography..just finished mapping the distribution of participants in a big study of exposure to pesticides and earlier a lot of analysis on a study of environmental exposure to radon.

posted by bobmcconnaughey at 7:28 am (EST) on Sep 24, 2008

geneg--the structure of the market has been a ponzi scheme for a long while. I've been expecting something like this for a long time. They seem to have strung it out and strung it for years out but apparently no longer. Horrible as it's better it happens now instead of the middle of November. So it's not so much depression I feel but outraged euphoria--which is not the same as to say I'm glad. It's just the senselessness had to stop. A top down economy eventually is going to collapse. Like anything else a structure is only as good as its foundation--so the stronger the bottom is the stronger the edifice.

posted by lriley at 3:49 pm (EST) on Sep 20, 2008

You're at the top of your game now geneg. Keep up the good work.

posted by lriley at 1:25 pm (EST) on Sep 20, 2008

"I really appreciate you willingness to help get me on the right path with how things are."

You're welcome. Anytime.

But I need to add a disclaimer: When it comes to the word 'are', I must be Clintonesque. It depends on what the meaning of 'are' is. Let's understand that 'how things are' actually means 'how things can be best described based on our best current evidence and models". But that is a mouthful, so we can stick with 'are' as long as we know what that means. ;-)

posted by yapete at 7:56 pm (EST) on Aug 24, 2008

The only thing, in comparison to the US constitution, is that we are unlikely to amend the Bible. However, it is true that men, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, selected the books to become the NT. I'm sure that they recognized the Spirit of God breathing life into those books even as do we, and that there was a huge difference between the books they selected and the ones they rejected as not being Scripture.

I certainly believe that the Holy Spirit continues to speak to people today, and that He never stopped speaking at the conclusion of the NT era. So, again I can agree with the Bible being a living document.

posted by saxhorn at 9:35 pm (EST) on Aug 23, 2008

Yes, I can see your point. Hebrews says the word of God is living and active. However, I have never thought of it as a living document as say, our constitution. But, in fact, our understanding of the Bible has changed over the centuries, as has our theology. So, I appreciate your view.

posted by saxhorn at 7:00 pm (EST) on Aug 23, 2008

Inspiration of the Bible is a puzzle for me. I believe the writing to be inspired because I hear God speaking to me in it. I also differentiate between specific illumination by he Holy Spirit for me the reader (rhema) and general inspiration for all readers (logos). But, I'm not convinced about word for word (plenary) inspiration.

I like your use of the word "message" which would seem to say that God inspired the thoughts, but allowed the writers to flesh out the text. That seems to be the way He speaks to me. I often get just short, pithy phrases, but not entire sentences. The complete germ of the "message" is there in the phrase, but to make it comprehendible to others I must elaborate.

Is this similar to your understanding? Do you know of any writers that propose a similar view?

posted by saxhorn at 4:03 pm (EST) on Aug 23, 2008

Hi Geneg,

Thanks for your question. First of all your understanding generally is correct. We don't call them phase shifts usually, but "symmetry breaking", but that is just semantics. As far as 0 K goes, the problem is that temperature is a concept that describes (in the simplest terms) the average kinetic energy per particle - so it is related to the thermal energy in a system. At 0K, the system has zero thermal energy. Everything stops. So it is tough to see how anything could happen there. Symmetry breaking usually happens when a system is initially at high enough temperature where it does not need to settle into one state or another. As it cools, it 'decides' to settle into one state or another. An example is magnetism. A hot piece of magnetic material is not magnetic at all, because all the little atomic magnets are shaking around randomly. Only when it is cooled down, do these atoms feel the interaction of their neighbors and settle down into some magnetic orientation. The symmetry (random state) is broken.

But if you are already at 0 K (or very close to it), this cannot really happen anymore, as everything has ceased to move.

As for the heat death of the universe, I don't see much way out for the universe, but maybe future humans will find a way to create a new universe to move to. But that is science fiction of course.

posted by yapete at 2:45 pm (EST) on Aug 22, 2008

Since some others have posted a few sources for evolution, let's table that for now. OK?

What are your thoughts on inspiration?

posted by saxhorn at 8:50 pm (EST) on Aug 21, 2008

geneg, LOVE the photo!

I wonder if maybe we should carry on our conversations in private, so that we don't offend others. I'm sure that there are those who are enjoying our conversation, and maybe profiting from it. But, our frequent posting may seem to dominate the conversation, which I don't think is our intention.

I now recognize that we share many common beliefs. I, too, believe that God is omnipotent and omniscient, and that He is only good. Our ways are often not His ways, and our thoughts are often not His. Therefore, we often misunderstand, or cannot comprehend what He is doing in the world.

I am not a student of evolution or creationism. They're not essential to my faith, except that God be the author and sustainer of life, which is what I believe Gen. 1-3 says. I'm not hung up on the science because there has been fraud perpetrated to try to prove aspects of evolution, and that naturalistic scientists have an agenda in disproving creation. I also think that the fossil record doesn't rule out special creation. In addition there is some evidence from astrology to indicate that the possibility of earth being able to sustain life were any of the variables to be changed less than 1% is miniscule. But I would enjoy discussing the subject with you.

However, a reliable, authoritative Bible is extremely important. I hear God speaking in it and that makes the Bible precious to me. Since I can hear Him speaking in it, I know, apart from scripture verses on inspiration, that it is inspired. I'm not sure how, and I'm not sure I accept plenary inspiration. Maybe we could discuss inspiration, too..

posted by saxhorn at 3:05 pm (EST) on Aug 21, 2008

You guessed it! Last ship was the USS Hwakins DD 875

posted by usnmm2 at 6:28 pm (EST) on Jul 31, 2008

Fair enough! Feel free to stop by if you reconsider ;-)

posted by turbosaab at 8:23 am (EST) on Jul 30, 2008

Geneg! geneg, geneg, geneg, geneg, geneg. Are you an old-school, 200-proof Marxist? I didn't think there were any of you left. The thesis-antithesis-synthesis stuff you were saying (that's how it parsed out to me anyway) sure sounded like that.

I am anything but a Marxist; we do agree on at least one thing, though: "Economists and governments begin tinkering and the next thing you know you have a very complicated system." I also appreciated your comments about the futility/counterproductivity of a lot of the policy tinkering that goes on.

posted by Carnophile at 2:59 pm (EST) on Jul 5, 2008

From the "Mars" thread, re: complex/complicated:

Even as I was writing “complicated” I was thinking “Don’t systems theorists distinguish between complicated and complex?”

I actually do use dynamics systems mathematics in my job, but not the "chaos" stuff. Difference and differential equations. As far as assessing the dynamics of a system, the main topics we focus on are conditions under which convergence to a steady state occurs (globally or locally), speed of convergence if it does occur, how to reduce the variance of a system by use of various control measures, and a smattering of chaos-type stuff.

You know I don't agree with the "money changer" remark, but more broadly, the economy is run efficiently? Maybe in some "minimum energy" sense (though I can't imagine how one would assess that), but not in the totally different sense of Pareto efficiency.

posted by Carnophile at 4:20 pm (EST) on Jul 3, 2008

Thanks for responding to my post. I just have a few more points.
a) I have just started to become active in my community, and I am finding that most Americans are pretty unwilling to do the dirty work of keeping our democracy running. Let's face it -- meetings are boring! Until, that is, the PTB (powers that be) try to sneak in some items that can change the entire nature of our society. But I am learning, first-hand, that I have no right to whine and moan about how my city is run if I'm not willing to show up at city council meetings and work to make my voice heard.
b) about one or two teachers being responsible for teaching more than one subject -- sounds great, but may in fact be unworkable. In my area, teachers are grossly underpaid (I actually make less than a local MacDonald's store manager). This often translates into the unpleasant fact of attracting the wrong people into my profession -- since most very bright people can make much more in the private sector, most folks with a family to support do just that. So in Florida it is hard enough to find teachers who are well-educated in one field, much less two.
c) While a low teacher to student ratio would be nice, it is much more important in the lower grades and in the maths and sciences than in the liberal arts in high school. It is far more important to create real SMALL schools of no more than 500 students each -- so that teachers and students can build a real rapport and become a true learning community. My headmaster says that we at SMA are a family -- and we act that way -- supporting and caring for each other, from custodial staff to students. That just can't be done when you have a 66 acre campus and 225 faculty members and a student population of 2800.

posted by RachelfromSarasota at 6:51 pm (EST) on Jun 28, 2008

Geneg -- this was such a long post that I decided to reply privately to your profile page, rather than inflict our discussion on our innocent LT group, who may not be interested in the nuts and bolts we're discussing. Your comments and ideas are right on the money! So much so, in fact, that they are mostly de rigeur (sp. ?) when it comes to teaching English lit/literary analysis. I'd love to have you pop into our beginning of the year, week-long faculty meetings, and look at some of the things we must incorporate into each and every lesson plan. I don't know of ANY public school in the USA that treats children as cogs in a "one-size-fits-all" learning schematic. Teachers today are expected to teach to a whole variety of learning styles, and we're given lots of training in just how to do that. We try to incorporate kinesthetic learning, right brain dominant learning, left brain dominant learning, mathematical-anyalytical learning styles, creative learners, and just about anything else that can be calibrated or guessed at. In short, we're doing what most good teachers have always done -- including lots of different ways to learn the same thing in every unit. And almost every public high school teacher today gets a snapshot of each child's learning style, strengths, weaknesses, and diagnosed learning disabilities through a variety of instruments (504s, IEPs, etc.)

Honestly, geneg, that's not the problem here. The problem is multi-faceted. I have been heavily involved in public education for 20 years, both as a parent, an adult student, and now a teacher, and what follows are my observations, which are backed up, I may add, by a majority of the colleagues I talk with.

1. America as a nation values athletics much more than academics.
2. Most Americans don't consider teaching "real" work.
3. Many American parents have less than fond memories of their own scholastic experiences.
4. Thus, often when teachers call home to enlist parental help in reaching a child, that help is not forthcoming -- for reasons 2 and 3, and also because of the very real economic and social pressures most parents face today -- the high incidence of divorce, highly dysfunctional families, the overflow of self-centeredness from the "me" generation, and. . .
5. the fact that many American parents are themselves not "into" academics and don't see academic success as having real value.

Now, granted, these are all gross generalizations, and there are of course exceptions -- but after ten years in the trenches, in both inner-city and white-bread suburban schools, I have found these generalizations to hold good.

Lack of parental support means, in reality, that teachers can rely only on those precious minutes we spend in class with our kids -- and that is just not enough. Even the best teacher cannot follow a child home to make sure that not only is homework valued, but that there's a quiet, well-equipped space to do it; that parents allot time each night for homework and reading; and that parents celebrate academic achievements along with all the other things in a child's life that need celebrating. This is a huge problem. Most of the great teachers I know (and I do know a few) are like me -- we give up our lunch periods to open our rooms up to our kids, we stay after school for a few hours to help those kids who need extra time or attention, and some, like me, even feed those children whose parents have little or no food in the house.

As far as removing a child from the classroom who is disruptive to the point where other children can't learn -- I don't know of ONE teacher who would not drop down on his/her knees and kiss the principal's hand if that could be done. But it can't. End of story. Legal issues prevent this. I personally know of one teacher, an awesome guy, likeable, mellow, friendly and laid-back, who was punched in the face by an out-of-control (and probably stoned) student -- said student got 5 days out-of-school suspension and then was back in that teacher's classroom. It's called "public" education for a reason. I don't have the time to go into all the legal ramifications here, but you can do the research yourself -- even a student caught bringing a loaded weapon onto a school campus is only "expelled" from school for one year -- the next year they can come back to that school or another public school, if the student has behaved appropriately in the mean time.

We are not allowed to search students' lockers or backpacks without legal cause -- and proving that cause can be an enormous headache.

Geneg, if you are really interested in helping us reform America's educational system, then I beg you to show up yourself at your local school board meetings. That's where policy is decided, and that's where real change starts. Or run for the board yourself!

You're on target when you talk about phys. ed., by the way. I chose to take a massive cut in pay (over $5000 a year) and to extend my commute from 15 to 45 minutes in order to work at this nation's only public military academy. Sarasota Military Academy does many things that other high schools can only dream about. To start with, we are not TOTALLY dependent on public funding. That means our headmaster and our board have the ability to set our own disciplinary policies and stick to them. That's a huge plus. Secondly, we are considered a school of choice -- like a magnet school. There are no fees to attend SMA, but students and parents MUST each sign a behavioral contract, and if that contract is broken, SMA has the ability to send that student back to her/his districted high school. Thus we have both the carrot and the stick. But take a moment to pity the poor teachers at that neighborhood high school -- their hands are bound, legally, and they are forced to take every student of legal age, whatever their behavioral or criminal background. When I taught at a traditional local high school, I found out midway through the year that one of my students had just been released from jail -- on a felony conviction (he and some buddies had robbed a convenience store at gunpoint -- using automatic weapons). The only reason I found this out (his records were sealed), was that he liked me and confided to me that he had found Jesus and been born again in prison. You can bet your bippy that I made sure this young man and I stayed on good terms!

Another thing that SMA does is require both students and teachers to wear a uniform -- military dress -- formal pants (no skirts, even for us ladies) -- and a military epauletted shirt. We all have rank, even if, in my case, it's purely honorary. We follow strict opening of class procedures -- the class stands at attention when the role is called, they respond to all questions with "Sir" or "Ma'am" or by that individual's rank, and they stand when an adult comes into the room. We also have morning formation each and every day -- they are formed into company ranks, they salute the flag, and morning announcements and activities are done in person at this 15 minute daily assembly.

And of course, physical exercise is incorporated into EVERY JROTC class, which every student MUST take through their junior year. Then they can switch over to a purely academic track -- but only a few kids take advantage of that option.

And, at our students' request, during our first or second year of operation, ALL staff and students are randomly drug-tested.

Now, all this is great -- discipline, drug-testing, required behavioral contracts and parental involvement -- but if you ask me, and I'll pretend that you have, the number one factor in SMA's success is that we are in all truth a SMALL school -- we have a small campus and our headmaster has promised to enroll no more than 600 students per year (we have a waiting list about twice that long as I speak).

Geneg, I have been involved in educational initiatives for about 12 years now, and I can tell you that EVERYONE, from parents to students to administrators to ivory-tower experts, agrees that our factory-model schools, with up to 2800 kids on one campus, is the absolute, positively worst way to educate our young. NO ONE likes this idea -- we know it doesn't work. So why do we still do it?

And that's got to be the topic for another thread and another rant, and another day.

Nice talking to you.

posted by RachelfromSarasota at 11:01 pm (EST) on Jun 27, 2008

I agree with you about Facebook. LT is a good jumping-off place: one can write, as here, or e-mail a personal note. . . .Facebook seems intrusive and cluttered. esta1923

posted by Esta1923 at 11:33 am (EST) on May 22, 2008

Geneg, thanks so much for permission to put in your reviews. The whole idea was to have them in one place for easy reading and I'd hate to have missed such excellent ones. When you sort out your access to the Wiki pages, you'll find them at numbers 3, 49 and 74. By the way, I may have screwed up your link. On the group page for GRTB, I've added links to each page. Maybe you'll have better luck from there.

I'm glad you reviewed Three Men in a Boat. I don't think you came back into the Game Thread to report you had. There's a passage in the book that is quite popular here for readings at weddings, a thing I learned when I was asked to read it at one. It's early on, when they are setting out and overfilling the boat. I wonder if you recall it.

posted by InigoMontoya at 11:13 am (EST) on May 9, 2008

Hi. On Go Review That Book!, I've created a group Wiki page to keep track of the progress of the game and the reviews that have been generated. Some may find it easier to read the reviews by having them in one handy place. There's a discussion thread in the group and this is the first Wiki page if you are interested in having a look. To avoid any difficulties with copyright, I'm seeking your consent to add your reviews to the group Wiki page.

posted by InigoMontoya at 8:39 am (EST) on May 9, 2008

PS - cute picture - even if you are bummed!!!

posted by kiwidoc at 11:58 pm (EST) on May 8, 2008

Ah, Gene, ya devil. I've got a pile of books that would stretch for here to the Horsehead Nebula and that doesn't even include the research material I have to go through for my next project. Good luck with the MIDDLEMARCH discussion--it's a helluva lot smarter than most genre stuff out there, I wager. I'll keep this short--Sherron and I were up in the office, recording another section of my novel for podcasting (eventually) and I'm wiped. Talk at you soon, mon...

posted by CliffBurns at 12:57 am (EST) on May 8, 2008

Sorry, I havent been on in a while. It is TOTALLY ok about the 'arguing' and stuff... i am used to people who disagree with me iguess and you might be able to tell, but i want to be a lawyer weh i grow up!! It is ok, dont worry about it!

posted by miriamelise at 10:10 pm (EST) on May 7, 2008

The map is a little screwed up. Pumpkin Center is actually in the west in the foothills.

posted by varielle at 1:06 pm (EST) on May 7, 2008

Gene: Glad to be of service.

Not sure if the Dick book you bought has "Electric Ant" in it but, if it does, make sure you read that one. Great concept. That particular collection I think I loaned to someone over 20 years ago and never got back. I'm still trying to get over the grudge. And, while I think of it, you should pick up a copy of Dick's novel FLOW MY TEARS, THE POLICEMAN SAID. One of the pivotal scenes near the end was inspired by the BOOK OF ACTS--I've always appreciated that novel, there's something spiritual and moving about it, the sadness leavened by a sense of (possible) redemption. Have a feeling that one might really work for you.

Have a great weekend, chum...

posted by CliffBurns at 10:25 am (EST) on May 3, 2008

Gene: I defy Scandinavia to have a winter like our last one. Cripes, we had a solid week of -50 wind chills. I can recall one Christmas when it was so cold the metal strip on the side of the car grew brittle and broke off. Aughhh. Dunno about Canada joining the United States but I'd sure welcome Montana joining Canada; what a gorgeous state.

posted by CliffBurns at 11:38 pm (EST) on Apr 14, 2008

I live a little north of thr Arctic Circle and Nordland is one of 19 counties in Norway. Bodø, where I have lived for about 35 years, is a town with about 45,000 inhabitants near the coast. Winters aren,t that cold, mainly due to the Gulf Stream. The spring/summer lasts about 5-7 months (april-august) and then it is very nice living here. In a way I like that the seasons are so different as they are here.
I am not a Lapplander, but I slightly know a few Lapplandic persons.
What is it like to live in Plano? Is it a big town/city, and what kind of town/city is it? Do you have very differnt seasons, too? Weather/temparature?

posted by kjellika at 11:58 am (EST) on Apr 6, 2008

Hey,
you are great. Thanks for trying. I have since thought of enough of my keywords that I tracked it down in the other person's postings and made a note of it. I still have no idea why it does not appear in my posts, but I guess I can remain blissfully ignorant of some mysteries.

I love your picture, BTW. Is it you or just a random picture which expresses your feelings on life?

Thanks again.

posted by polutropos at 4:07 pm (EST) on Mar 30, 2008

Sorry, I never watched "The Wire." Sorry to disappoint.

posted by Lunar at 5:11 am (EST) on Mar 25, 2008

LOL I love the hat!

posted by BGP at 4:56 pm (EST) on Feb 22, 2008

Huh, well, you've got a doppleganger. But then again, this guy looked like you 15 years ago, so I wasn't accounting for age. Funny how you sometimes expect people to look like the last time you've seen them: an indication of our psychic self-centeredness, I suppose. Anyway, this guy was a bartender, so I never got a good look at him in the light of day.

posted by Makifat at 1:39 pm (EST) on Jan 25, 2008

That is a very nice profile photo of you, BTW. Nice smile.

posted by TheresaWilliams at 5:00 pm (EST) on Jan 16, 2008

Hi Gene, I have a funny story about Tobacco Road. When I was nine, my father had an attack (we thought it was a heart attack at the time) and spent several days in the hospital. I was too young to visit according to hospital rules, so I had to wait in the waiting room. My mother worked in a little store that sold various things, including books. Not knowing anything about books, she bought a copy of TOBACCO ROAD for me to read while she was visiting Daddy. Well, I was pretty shocked, enough that the title is emblazoned in my memory forever. When I saw your book group was doing it, I ordered myself a copy because I want to revisit the book as an adult. I look forward very much to reading your review. I may not get to the book for a while because classes are full steam ahead. But as soon as I read it, I would love to have a discussion with you!

posted by TheresaWilliams at 4:58 pm (EST) on Jan 16, 2008

About "modal". The "mode" of a probability distribution function is where it achieves a local maximum, so it represents the most likely value. The "modal" bear would be the most likely wh1ich is to say, the ordinary, bear.

Lately, or maybe not so lately, I've developed the verbal tick of talking about "the ordinary bear", so when prompted for a user name "Quick...think of a name...." out came modalUrsine, a slihtly more highfalutin' way of saying ordinary bear.

posted by modalursine at 2:53 pm (EST) on Jan 13, 2008

Not sure what you mean - the idea of a cat in the library or that there might be some library scat!!
LibrarysCat

posted by LibrarysCat at 5:18 pm (EST) on Jan 2, 2008

Thanks for the kind note - and the words towards our mis-informed member! I appreciate the comment. =)

posted by stephmo at 2:39 pm (EST) on Dec 27, 2007

Wow, I had forgotten all about that posting (me asking for pointers about learning html db) "blast from the past". At first I wasnt even sure it WAS me, but I could hear my own voice in the um "prose".

The post was circa 2005 when the HTML/DB tool had just come out. Its now called APEX by the way. Oracle likes to change the name of its tools to keep us hopping, I guess.

I'm an Oracle specialist , its how I get my corn pone, so I try to keep up with whatever is going on in the Oracle world, and in related fields. Everybody has his own learning style, and my style is not super quick to "Follow what the master is doing and eventually mastery will come, grasshopper". I mean eventually it will, but thats not my preferred way to go.

To answer your first question, yes, eventually I figured out how to do some stuff. Persistence wears away a rock. I'm known for being a stubborn cuss.

But I'm curious about your remark that "Its not what I expected to find". Makes a fella wonder what you WERE expecting?

posted by modalursine at 10:45 pm (EST) on Dec 25, 2007

Yeeeeeeeeep, winter's been here for a good month or so. I was kind of surprised that it didn't snow for Halloween because we'll usually get one early snowfall just before, or on, Halloween, and then almost nothing for a couple weeks after and then winter will hit in its entirety , but this year it was a day or two after Halloween that we got our first snow.

Actually this week isn't that bad at all, -4 to -16 is "warm" winter weather.We just had a couple of weeks where it was -30 with the wind chill factored in, which isn't especially bad, but it is definitely winter weather. Bad is when you start getting into the -40s and lower, THAT is the "Brrr." weather. But hey, it's still early and January & February are usually the colder months anyway.

In general I can deal with the cold, it's just the wind I can't stand. So as long as it isn't windy I don't mind the weather at all. And really, as long as you're bundled up enough there is nothing to mind.

I can't say that I'm on a curling team(curling isn't that big in the cities usually, I know it's kind of a Canadian stereotype, but most people from around here don't curl), but I am reffing hockey and will be doing some snowboarding now that our ski hills are starting to open up. Might even take a trip out west to go to a real ski resort for once!

But all and all it has been a nice calm winter so far. No snow storms or blizzards yet, and only one scare where we were supposed to get 15-20cm of snow in the course of 24 hours, but the system passed south of the city so we didn't snowed on too badly.

FYI it started to snow while I was writing this...

posted by -Mr-Dustin- at 3:48 pm (EST) on Dec 12, 2007

Hello,

I saw your post in the Progressive Evangelical group about the New Perspective on Paul. In a nutshell this is a group of evangelical scholars who are undermining the traditional Protestant understanding of Paul which started with Luther, specifically with regard to conversion. N.T Wright is a major name associated with it. Without going into deep detail, I believe it threatens to undermine all of Protestant theology.

posted by thinkingriddles at 9:37 pm (EST) on Dec 10, 2007

Hello, geneg, I didn't mean to ignore you, sorry (I somehow missed the new comment on my profile). No, it doesn't sound like proper (southern) German. "Yo/a/nder" isn't German at all, AFAIK, at least in none of the dialects I know. It might well be part of some overseas dialects such as Pennsylvania Dutch or Plautdietsch, i.e. an English intrusion into those dialects. HTH :-).

posted by GirlFromIpanema at 5:44 am (EST) on Nov 22, 2007

I stole the picture off some kid.

I grew up in Winston-Salem, and lived in Durham with my wife for 15 years. I liked Carolina, but it has changed radically. If Oriental has not changed much, I might like to retire there one day. Get a boat, and just sail around.

I once knew a barista from Plano. Her name was Monica. She became a rare book dealer. (I helped her write some obscure descriptions for latin theological texts.) I enjoy your comments. A clear and righteous thinker...like me!

posted by Arctic-Stranger at 8:01 pm (EST) on Nov 21, 2007