Walk again down memory lane …

This will ramble …. just go with it.

While I did not have time for the full tour, I did get to look a bit at my alma mater while driving and walking around relative to the football game.

1. The one dorm I stayed in looks as forboding as ever. Except for the bars, guards, soddomy, and about 20 square feet smaller in room area, it could have been a prison.

2. The one apartment I lived in looks as run down as ever … just 16 years older, and now surrounded by even more buildings which makes it look even smaller.

3. The really cool apartment that Tom N used to live in over one summer (it had a pool table, how could it not be cool!) looks run down.

4. The student union now offers massages to run down students. Poor stressed out kids. They have no idea. I guess neither did we. The bowling alley is out, and so is the microcomputer center. There is a Jamba Juice on the main floor. In some ways, things have not improved.

5. Altgeld Hall … still as gothic looking as ever.

6. The dorms near the football stadium provide really great echoes of the stadium’s public address system. I could hear announcements crystal clear walking between those dorms and the stadium.

7. People are friendly, if not amazingly slow!

8. When checking into the hotel at the Union, I was worried that the parking cops would tow my car. The hotel manager told me not to worry, that no police were patrolling parking today. He then handed me my parking pass … if the police weren’t patrolling, then why do I need a parking pass? I couldn’t shake that one for a while.

9. Number of times Marist students, in age old tradition, chanted “bullshit” after they thought the refs blew a call: 2

10. Number of personal fouls: 7

11. Number of unsportsmanlike conduct penalties: 1

12. Number of yards the Maine South running back ran for: 316

13. Number of TD’s same player ran for: 5

14. Last time a “big” school in Illinois had two consecutive undefeated state championships: 1985.

I took a stroll past FAR which is where Tom N. lived for a few years … it really was far! PAR next door is where Beth lived for a year before jumping ship for IceU.

It just looked weird not seeing all of the video games around anymore … is this what older people think when they go somewhere and say “I could have sworn there used to be a disco ball hanging there …”

I was walking through the halls of the union looking at the beautiful portraits of the distinguished alumni, and while I was admiring them, I was thinking “If I had chosen the major that half of these folks did, I to could have had a GPA as inflated as theirs … I bet half of them never had grades as good as me, not that mine were the best. Kind of makes me wish I could try it again.” Then I saw Jack Kilby’s portrait, and just kept moving.

Shakespeare, Serling, and the growth of mature scifi …

http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/la-et-classic-hollywood28-2009oct28,0,1202866.story

An odd set of coincidences occurred over the past few days … hardly even the most important things to happen, yet they stuck out as something of an odd set of coincidences.

First, on Sunday, while eating dinner with my parents, my father had Turner Classic Movies on the television, and it was broadcasting Forbidden Planet. When the film concluded, the host reminded us that the film was based on Shakeepeare’s The Tempest, and was considered the first truly respectable work of cinematic science fiction (note: I guess we are tossing out Frankenstein, but since that was “supposed” to be directly based on the Shelley novel, and not some futuristic adaptation, I guess FP is the first semi-original piece of legitimate scifi for film). It is hard to disagree. Despite being over 50 years old, the film has aged remarkably well … you never hear about anyone trying to remake it … it is perfect just the way it is,

The link above is to an LA Times piece about Rod Serling. Serling was a well respected TV writer when he suddenly shucked his career over a precipice to write, host, and produce kiddy scifi. Of course, there was nothing kiddy about The Twilight Zone … quite the opposite. TTZ was quite probably for TV what FP was for film: an attempt to produce high quality science fiction that could be entertaining, but more importantly used the trappings of science fiction (space ships, ray guns, monsters, aliens, etc) as the backdrop for a moral, philosophy, or most importantly, to comment on the current state of humanity (something that even journalism had a hard time doing). The LA times article further points out that with Serling, you had a writer in charge instead of a suit. This lay the groundwork for the better scifi series that would follow … everything from cop show/western writer Gene Rodenberry’s little “wagon train to the stars” in the 1960s, to Ronald D. Moore taking the lessons of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and applying them in masterfully recreating Battlestar Galactica.

Weird coincidence …..

I happened to read that LA Times article while waiting for this evening’s feature attraction: ABC’s attempted relaunch of the old NBC miniseries “V“. For the 2% of you not familiar, “V” is an exceptionally veiled parable which relates how totalitarianism (notably, the Nazis) not only came to power, but that even in the warm Los Angeles sun of the 1980s, it would be very easy to happen all over again. It is a miniseries that reminds us that all good wars have nothing to do with religion or ideology (its always about resources … in the case of “V”, our reptilian overlords want our water, and want us as a new protein source). The original miniseries was a tremendous application of science fiction … the aliens and their spaceships were the backdrop … the lessons about allowing society to be swayed into devotion to a charismatic individual or group was the real point. The sequel miniseries and subsequent series was not as good, and was really not needed (the points about totalitarianism were dropped, and the point became all about plot).

This new series has already thrown the gasoline onto the fire. In the first episode there was a moment when a the alien leader is being interviewed by a newscaster, and she calmly explains that her people are going to be expanding their “healing centers” to every major city around the world. The reporter returns with “you mean, you are offering us universal health coverage”. The reptile-in-human clothing smiles and responds “yes, you could call it that.” I’m not sure if Nancy Pelosi or Barack Obama were watching, but if they were, you could tell there would be a small chill going down their spine. That piece of overt politics aside, I thought this was not bad as remakes go. The exotic good looks of Morena Baccarin could not have been a better choice to play the alien leader … a combination of intelligence and warmth mixed with a very cold demeanor buried beneath. This will be worthy of a second look next week

Barney, Meow Mix, and CIA torture

http://new.music.yahoo.com/various-artists/news/musicians-crank-up-the-volume-on-guantanamo-debate–61995482

A number of bands are jumping on the bandwagon to shut down the prison camp for suspected terorists at Guantanamo Bay, after learning that their music was used as a torture device.

Sure, the obvious suspects like Marylin Manson and Britney Spears were used …. but so apparently was the Barney theme song and (for those old enough to remember) the “Meow Mix” commercial jingle.

I guess the CIA will never be accused of not trying their best … listening to this garbage that long would drive me insane enough to start spilling secrets.

Muammar Gaddafi: Nutjob extaordinaire

Muammar Gaddafi is a nut case. Sure, we have known about this in America for 25+ years, but the sign that he had gone completely around the bend must have been his recent nuzzling up the USA.

It seems that the Colonel’s son was recently detained in Switzerland for two days. Reason, that rat bastage chip-off-the-block was beating two of his servants. Now Switzerland may not be the most tolerant nation on Earth (universal suffrage for women did not arrive until the 1970s or 80s), but they know that even if your name is Hannibal, and your dad owns Libya, you go to jail for assaulting people.

Dear old dad responded by cutting funds to Nestle and arresting two Swiss businessmen. The president of Switzerland, like so many of the “make love, not war” crowd (not that all Europeans are appeasing, but there is historic prescendent, no?), ran off to Tripoli to apologize for arresting the Colonel’s son. The Swiss should, of course, know better than to protect the civil rights of innocent doglike servants to the Libyan royal family.

For the next year, Libya holds the presidency of the UN Security Council (another reason to not back a world government like the UN). Colonel Gaddafi was in New York to give a speech before the 50% of the UN which didn’t have the intelligence to walk out prior to his rambling incoherence. Among the items he proposed for the UN to take up: the partitioning of Switzerland.

I mean, if you are going to pick on a country, picking on Switzerland ranks right up there with going after Denmark. The Colonel proposes returning the Italian speaking areas to Italy, the German speaking areas to Germany, and the French speaking areas to France (I guess the Romansch speaking areas become a Forbidden Zone lined with scarecrows to keep the curious and the apes out). Gaddafi reasons that Switzerland is less a country and more a mafia (which given a history of laundering money for the Nazis and many other criminals and criminal organization, I guess we could give a pass to the senile old coot on his thinking there … on the other hand, I suppose it takes one to know one).

Personally, just to say I saw it in my life time, I think the Swiss need to get angry and call out the military to pay Tripoli a visit. I’m not violent, and don’t approve of wars without good reasons, but the surrealistic headlines: “Swiss Bomb Libya – Swiss flag now flying over Gaddafi’s palace” might just be worth it for the sheer novelty.

Reaffirmation

As a teacher, I have had parents come to me on more than one occasion and ask “what should I do?” As someone who long ago turned their back on having children, that always puts me in an uncomfortable position.

Sure, I have those days where I wonder if it would be better to have actively tried to convince some woman to marry me and have a child or two … I see plenty of successful parents out there. Sometimes, in moments of self-guile and hubris I even think “people have been parents for thousands of years …I difficult can it really be?”

Then every so often …

I have been sick the last two days, so last night at about 7:30 I headed to Chipotle to get something in their hot red salsa, which I am convinced should require FDA regulation as a medicine for cold sufferers. This stuff pretty much kills any bacteria or virus it comes into contact with.

As I walk in, the line is short … just two people ahead of me. I notice this woman with three kids not in line, but with their eyes skyward looking at the menu. I get up to be next in line, when mom decides that she is ready and that it is OK to move in ahead of me.

First, she orders beef tacos ….. the kids are yapping about what to put on it …. then “I don’t know if I like the beef” … she gets some beef for the kid to sample …. its too spicy …. OK … I need a steak burrito ….. and the tacos with mild beef … The preparer puts aside the tacos, and starts working on the steak burrito …. one kid is yammering about drinks … the other is saying no cheese. The steak burrito comes through, and it has sour cream on it. “I asked for that without sour cream” she says (note: she never uttered anything of the kind). Now they are throwing away the tacos and burrito and starting again. Then she needs a steak burrito bowl and guacamole and chips … after all of that, the line has grown considerably, and they take my order. She is now up to the cash register, but there are no non-spicy beef tacos. For those not aware, Chipotle’s barbacoa is mildly spicy beef … they don’t make any non-spicy …. but this restaurant …. in an attempt to save a customer …. apparently is trying to make some in the back. This goes on and on with the whole selection of the salsa (what kinds are there?) to the addition of lettuce and cheese.

Then the coupons come out.

I am really trying to be sympathetic vs. annoyed …. really I am … even though this has been dragging out for almost ten minutes. The people behind me are laughing quietly at this woman who is holding everyone up (at this point, the line now has 24 people, and nearly reaches the door; I counted on the way out). Finally she thinks she’s got everything while the kids go fill up their cups and make a mess of things over there.

It was one of those life affirming moments in my life … I never suggest that others should follow my lead …. quite the contrary. However, every so often in the grand scheme of the universe, you get that moment of insight and think “there, but for the grace of God, could have been me.”

Not sure if the hot sauce did anything, but I was feeling less congested last night and much better this morning. Coincidence????? (probably)

Cool Nickname (8/31/2009): The Sleepy Hollow High School Headless Horsemen

School: Sleepy Hollow High School

Town: Sleepy Hollow, New York

Colors: Red and Black

Don’t Believe it?: http://tufsdblogs.org/athletics/

Around 1819, one of America’s first great authors, Washington Irving, published his collection, The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent. One of the short stories in that collection was his most famous work, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow … the story of a geeky, superstitious school teacher who is most likely scared away from dating the town beauty by the local tough guy, who disguises himself as the horrifying ghost of a Hessian soldier from the Revolution. There were certainly ghost stories before Washington Irving penned his book, but the Horseman is likely the one that has survived the longest in the American consciousness.

When it comes to intimidating opponents, there are likely few mascots that can strike fear quite like the beheaded ghost of an angry German mercenary mounted on some galloping warhorse. One of the news briefs I read told that they actually dress a student as the horseman who gallops in front of the football team as they take the field. That’s pretty awesome! Three cheers to a school that not only honors a great American literary tradition, but likely scares every kid under eight in the stadium.

Cool Nickname (8/24/09): The Lemon Bay High School Manta Rays

School: Lemon Bay High School

Town: Englewood, Florida

Colors: Orange and Blue

Don’t Believe it?: http://www.ccps.k12.fl.us/schools/LBHS/

Let’s face it: manta rays are pretty darn cool! Rays in general are cool; relatives of sharks with their weird flat bodies, and despite looking like something out of a Dali painting, they are harmless (OK, almost completely harmless). Manta rays are the giants of the ray family, but despite their up to 25 foot “wingspans”, they are curious, without being threatening. Overall, not a bad name to give to your teams … maybe not so threatening, but incredibly cool!

Cetaceans and tort law

http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/1724076,brookfield-zoo-lawsuit-dolphin-081909.article

A woman is suing Brookfield Zoo (just outside of Chicago) after she slipped and fell after a performance by the zoo’s trained dolphins.

I quote:

In a suit filed this week in the Circuit Court of Cook County, Allecyn Edwards, claims she slipped and injured herself, blaming zoo keepers who “recklessly and willfully trained and encouraged the dolphins to throw water at the spectators in the stands, making the floor wet and slippery.”

She is asking for US$50,000. Amazing that one would go to a dolphin show, be warned that the first three rows will likely get wet (which they always warn about), and that people would get wet, and then after seeing the water on the floor chose to walk through it.

Cool Nickname (8/17/09): The Watersmeet Township Nimrods

School:  Watersmeet Township High School

Town:  Watersmeet, Michigan

Colors: Blue & gold

Don’t Believe it?:  http://www.watersmeet.k12.mi.us/nimrod.html

The school (for good reason, perhaps) dedicates an entire page to the proud history of the Nimrods.  Biblically, Nimrod was a great hunter and leader (the site explains.  So, on the one hand, there is some logic to this.  The site goes on to list two definitions of the word “Nimrod”, one the biblical allusion, and the other descended from that to be a generic word for hunter, which in Michigan I guess works …. lots of hunting in the woods of Michigan.

BUT ….

If you know you have a name that (in the current usage) is a little off kilter, and you need to explain to folks why this is such a great idea, there should be a little alarm going off explaining that you might have done better to just call your teams the “Hunters” and get it over with.

A little research seems to explain the discrepancy.  The school chose the name in 1904, but the prevailing use of the term to refer to an idiot didn’t come about until at least the 1930s or later.

Nonetheless, I guess a community has to have a lot of chutzpah to stick with this name after the change in meaning.  A salute to a community with some guts to stand up to a lot of jokes from the opposing sidelines.

The process of art

I think mostly because I have no artistic talent, I have long been fascinated by those who are able to create art in its myriad of forms.  Of course, it is one thing to see a work of art (like a painting or sculpture) and wonder how it was made.  Years ago, when I took an art history class, I got a chance to see a wonderful documentary film by Paul Haesaert entitled Visit to Picasso.  There’s not much to it:  Picasso paints live in front of the camera.  It really does not give a detailed insight into the process of creation, but it is one of the rare opportunities to watch a true master at work.  In some cases, Picasso paints on glass with the camera on the other side.  It is remarkable, as you see here, in this excerpt:

What prompted this?  What prompted me to remember this experience was an e-mail from Seattle about an artist in the Ukraine who is apparently becoming a hit worldwide, thanks to her appearance on Ukraine’s Got Talent, with a form of art that I was not wholly familiar with.  Using sand in art is old, especially in the Far East.  Sand painting is a part of Buddhist art, and has traveled with the spread of that religion.  This artist’s name is Kseniya Simonova, and it is very difficult to describe what she does.  It is best to simply watch.

I’m not sure if it is proper to call this performance art or not, but there are other YouTube videos of this woman’s fascinating work.

edit:  Here is the original video I got to look at today (which Elizabeth notes is her favorite  … it is a tribute to the Ukraine and its suffering at the hands of Nazi invaders during WWII.