School’s out, and hopefully tomorrow I will be taking in James Cameron’s Avatar to see if he can redeem himself after the garbage that was Titanic …

In any event, there are a few coming soon films that have piqued my interest …
Daybreakers (Jan. 8th)

AKA: The Victory of Dracula

… I’m not a huge fan of the vampire genre, but I don’t dislike it … the problem is for every good film (From Dusk ‘Till Dawn) 30 Days of Night), you get more crappy films (Fright Night 2, Twilight). This film’s premise is that the vampires finally won, and humanity has finally been reduced to essentially cattle …. a herd of cattle that is rapidly diminishing. Thus the vampires are fighting to survive while humanity is trying to get back on top of the food chain. It sounds like a rare original take on the blood suckers.

The Wolfman (Feb. 12)

AKA: The Wolfman (duh!)

This film has had its release pushed back twice, and that is rarely good news … a February release date also does not bode well (is the studio thinking it couldn’t compete with the summer blockbusters or fall awards fare?) In any event, what looks to be an atmospheric film with Benicio del Toro and Anthony Hopkins can’t be all bad … can it?

Alice in Wonderland (Mar. 5)

AKA: The definitive version of a timeless drug induced children’s masterpiece

So Tim Burton, who has made a career of making great family films look like they were based on some drug induced trip finally gets a crack at perhaps the ultimate prize: Lewis Carroll’s children’s classic. I can imagine Disney sitting down to plan this one:
we need a director who knows creepy (Burton, check)

Is that woman who Tim Burton puts in all of his films available the really creepy looking one (Helena Bonham Carter, check)

How about Anne Hathaway … she’s not creepy, but if we dress her and put her in head to toe white make up, she will look very otherworldly (check).

Alan Rickman can play creepy and evil … we’ve got to get him in here (check)

How silly … if you want a creepy movie, Crispin Glover is the king of creepy (And we can send him to Letterman for the promotional tour) (check!)

How about Johnny Depp … (check)

The only thing that might make this creepier is getting Christopher Lee …. the guy who played Dracula, Sarumon, Count Dooku (check)

I’m not sure you will want your really young kids to see this …. it is bound to be a trip of some kind!

Clash of the Titans (Mar. 26)

AKA: Perseus’ List

The original Clash of the Titans was notable for being the last film for special effects legend Ray Harryhausen and acting legend Sir Laurence Olivier. Otherwise it was a very Hollywood retelling of the Greek legend of Perseus and how he goes about saving the babe from a Norwegian sea monster (the Kraken is from Norse myth … never sure how it got here … maybe a part of a trade between Zeus and Odin … the Kraken was the monster to be named later?)

This retelling looks to be a lot darker and a lot more epic thanks to CGI. Stepping in for Sir Laurence as Zeus is Liam Neeson, and stepping in as Hades is Raph Feines. Remember the human sized scorpions in the original … bigger! Kraken … more menacing … the big change in this film is that rather than Thetis being the pain in Perseus’ butt, it is Hades attempting to take over Olympus …. and the son of Zeus needs to help the old man out.

A Nightmare on Elm Street (Apr. 30)

AKA: Freddy’s Reboot

Filmed partially in the nearby north suburbs, Jackie Earle Haley parlays his career reboot into putting on the razor claws of everyone’s favorite crisped custodian. I mean, didn’t they just recently wrap on Nightmare XXXIV? Michael Bay directs, and it looks like he is putting CGI to full effect to bring the nightmare sequences to greater fruition.

Iron Man 2 (May 7)

AKA: Twice the Iron, Twice the Man

In the Iron Man mythos …. the big villian is The Mandarin … who has but only been alluded to but not seen, and I suspect that will continue in this film with the baig man finally coming out in film #3 … an interesting twist on how most superhero trilogies start big and peter out as they introduce weaker villians. Anyway, everyone’s favorite gazillionaire-alcoholic-playboy-engineer must not only hold of the pressure of the U.S. government who covets his suit of armor, but antagonists from Russia (Whiplash and the Black Widow, played by Mickey Rourke and Scarlett Johansson, respectively).

Robin Hood (May 14)

AKA: My name is Gladiatorhood

Ridley Scott is a phenomenal director, and Russell Crowe has as much range as any modern actor (hard to believe that General Maximus Decimus Meridius and John Nash were played by the same actor). That alone will get my attention. Cate Blanchett gets the nod for Marian (who is played as a widow, not a maiden).

The A-Team (Jun. 11)

AKA: Untitled Liam Neeson TV project

In 2002, a crack commando unit was sent to prison by a military court for a crime they didn’t commit. These men promptly escaped from a maximum security stockade to the Los Angeles underground. Today, still wanted by the government, they survive as soldiers of fortune. If you have a problem, and no one else can help, and if you can find them, maybe you can hire …. Except for retconning the action for Iraq War vets instead of Vietnam vets, and inserting Liam Neeson into the role of wise cracking leader and master of disguise Hannibal Smith. I couldn’t find a trailer, but allow me to predict:

Woman in distress: Help me A-Team!

Murdoch: No problem, beautiful senorita, madamoiselle, wohoo!

Face: I’ll charter the plane.

B.A: I ain’t gettin’ on no plane, Hannibal!

insert car chase, explosions, gun battle, anti-drug message, The End

The Karate Kid (Jun. 11)

AKA: Will and Jada Pinkett Smith present their son, Jaden, as the Karate Kid

Thought The A-Team was the only vintaged 80’s title coming back in the middle of June? This film does offer a few twists in that it is about a kid who actually has to go to China when mom gets moved there by his job, and learns the title martial art from a grand master. Who dares step into the shoes of beloved Pat Morita’s Miyagi-san … Jackie Chan was a pretty good hire! If there is justice, there will be a “sweep the leg” line somewhere in there, along with “You’re the best” playing in the background.

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.

As most of you know, I am a teacher at Maine South, and among other things work as the press box announcer for the football games. Today, Maine South defeated Loyola Academy in the state semifinal game, 21-14. It is Maine South’s six trip to the state finals in ten years. Maine South enjoys a 27 game winning streak, and can win their second consecutive state title on Saturday.

Their surprising opponent will be Marist, my alma mater. Marist’s tradition in football isn’t quite as good …. they did make a trip down state back in ‘86 (losing to Buffalo Grove), but has not been there since.

I was a long standing and very proud alum of Marist … never missed a homecoming through college and into my first two years of teaching … then I voluntarily left a higher paying job to go back to my alma mater to teach. I donated money to the school when I had very little to give for anything as a college student, and as a young teacher.

What I was not aware of is that the school was getting ready to downsize the teaching staff. That was my fault. I was so thrilled to get back there to teach, I never researched the school situation carefully enough. I lost my job … which I was never bitter about. I was bitter about the way it was handled. We received a letter in our mailbox, with some random company’s logo on the envelope (this was common, as many companies would donate things like that to the school to save money), but it was tactless beyond tact to put termination notices in such an envelope … not to mention even looking “family” members (we were always called the “Marist Family”) in the face and say “sorry, we need to let you go”. Some of these people were members of the family for 20 years, and had been teachers there when I was there. I understood the financial realities which necessitated this move, but never understood the cowardice of the administrators who preached “family”, and then treated their family this way. The students staged a walk out at one point as the principal tried to defend himself. The staff, of course, was too professional to get the students involved, and actively discouraged students from doing this. I remember watching my former history teacher … one of the toughest guys I had ever met, break down crying over what had happened. Another teacher whom I didn’t know very well quit that week without a job lined up. He had worked there his whole career, and refused to accept that this is how professionals are supposed to act let alone, a family.

It was like being a part of a family, and then learning this family which had stood on a strong moral and ethical foundation really didn’t. I know that I have never quite been the same since then. On the one hand, maybe it was a certain naivete … but I have always held that it was more a matter of trust … that I trusted these people to do not what was just … not what was right … but what was commonly decent.

This could be chalked up as a mistake. The administration was run by young administrators at the time …. however no apology for the treatment of these people was ever issued. That hurt more than anything.

When I left, I asked the alumni director to remove my name from the alumni list, and to make sure the school never contacted me again, which they have not. As a student, I had been taught to respect people, especially those who are more vulnerable than you. People who lose their job are pretty darn vulnerable.

So, next Saturday, I will be in Champaign and I will be sitting on the Maine South side of the field, and I will be cheering loudly for my students. It is not out of any hatred for Marist … I have long let go of my anger, and have forgiven. But there is a difference between “forgiveness” and “support”. I have forgiven those who hurt me and more importantly a lot of other people who were hurt deeper. However, I cannot support it in a time that should be celebratory, and I will not divide my loyalty.

Update: Maine South defeated Marist 41-17. I am very happy for Maine South, especially my current and former students on the team. The game was marred with quite a few personal fouls (a few were called against us, which is uncharacteristic). Marist played well, especially on defense, but was never quite able to get its offense going for sustained periods of time.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/us_space_elevator

My good friend, Tom, has had a thing about space travel. This is nothing new …. he has had the bug for years. I cannot say my enthusiasm is at his level, but I certainly understand it.

For the past few years, he has been working with a company, LaserMotive out in Seattle, and they have been working on a problem that seems a little outlandish to some people: begin the process of building an elevator to space.

I know the image that comes to mind … a vision of a normal elevator disappearing into the clouds and opening up somewhere in orbit …. hope you were wearing a spacesuit.

It seems outlandish, even as science fiction goes (and space elevators have populated science fiction). Yet, how many ideas from science fiction of the past later became reality (note: there is a reason why most cell phones open the same way Star Trek style communicators do … their inventor was inspired by the show).

So, this week, after months of delays, LaserMotive finally got to test their mettle at the NASA sponsored Space Elevator Games held out at Edwards Air Force Base in the high desert of California (the same place where Chuck Yeager broke the sound barrier, and where the earliest space shuttle missions landed).

The challenge: have a robot climb a cable 1 km long. Do it at an average speed of 2 m/s, you can share in a $900,00 payday. Do it at a speed exceeding 5 m/s, and you can share in an additional $1.1 million payout.

LaserMotive has had false starts in the past, but this time did not disappoint. They easily qualified for the $900,000 prize, and were the only one of the teams there to have a successful run.

The hope is that one day, robots such as these can help construct the “cable” that would serve as the “elevator cable” for a space elevator, significantly reducing the cost needed to launch payloads into space.

Congrats to LaserMotive for taking a small step forward into unknown territory.

Here is video of the first run … sorry, no explosions or ray guns … just a little bit of history.

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

I have always felt blessed to work at the school I work at. The kids for the vast most part are good kids … minus a few crazies, I have received support from my parents … minus a really bad call from my department chair a few years ago, I have received pretty good support from my superiors … my colleagues have been pretty good … and the school district has been financially sound.

But something has changed.

This years is our first year under a new superintendent and business manager. The previous superintendent left under murky circumstances after only three years. The new guy (a guy I happen to have some trust in … I think he is a good guy), announced that the school is running a roughly $17 million structural deficit …. which is to say that the district has somewhere between $80 million and $100 million in reserve, but that the current level of expenditure paired with less money coming in from investments and property taxes has created a situation that will put the district in severe financial problems within the next year.

The district has announced that they are in the midst of determining what to cut, and what to start charging more money for. The district has requested that the teachers union consider reopening the contract (currently in year 3 of a five year deal) to cut costs. The union is currently in midst of an internal fight regarding this: certainly all of the untenured teachers are in favor of this, as are some of the recently tenured teachers who are in danger of losing their jobs. There are tenured teachers who are in favor of opening the contract, provided that there are written guarantees that concessions would translate to jobs being saved. Most of the teachers are, however vehemently against conceding a dime. There are some old school hippiesque teachers who just won’t give in to “the establishment” under any circumstance …

There is some irony to what is happening … on the one hand, the union is reminding everyone that they only wanted a 3 year contract … and actually had wanted annual pay increases tied to the consumer price … which is practically nothing today (this of course would have led the union to lynch its leadership right now). The Board didn’t want a 3 year contract because the last contract negotiation was so contentious (it nearly led to the district’ first strike in its 100 years). The other irony was that the union stood firm on big salary gains (the contract averages out to some 4% or so increase per year) because the union claimed that the district was sitting on a huge cash reserve. Now $100 million is not chump change … but for a huge school district (6,500+ students … well over 400 teachers plus support staff …. three large schools, two alternative schools), $100 million could evaporate very quickly if it is not managed properly.

So once again, the union and school board are circling each other. The district is not releasing detailed financial information, and the union is refusing to do anything until they get to see more detailed information. One issue that is starting to come up: if a large number of the younger staff are dismissed … a lot of those younger teachers were the margin which prevented a strike on the last contract …. with them out of the way, a strike might be all but inevitable, which is one of the reasons some of the older staff are so willing to see the younger staff go.

Needless to say, rumors are rife …. the number of layoffs … how much students will be charged to play sports … class sizes of 50 or more … how many of the support staff will be dismissed … my favorite was a story about a teacher coming into possession of an accidentally sent out e-mail from the business manager with the real financial data and strategies to “misinform the public and union” … of course was a bold faced lie.

The superintendent has been giving public talks (first with teachers only, and now later community forums). The public has been upset with the teachers getting large pay increases in a time when a lot of families are barely getting by … or not. There has been a loud outcry over spending when the district should have better predicted that there wouldn’t be as much money around. The superintendent has been careful to not blame any problems on the teachers, but has noted that the request to open the contract has not been responded to yet. The union hardliners (IMO) quotemined this and have been holding up as proof that the administration is trying to throw the teaches under the bus. I haven’t bought into that.

The district has announced that they have set a deadline of January to announce all of the cuts … this in order to give teachers losing their jobs the best opportunity to find new work. The next few months will not be boring, if not depressing.

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.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091017/ap_on_re_la_am_ca/lt_brazil_violence

Chicago’s crime rate is actually down a bit … but to my knowledge the El Rukn’s never took out a police helicopter with a SAM!

Congratulations IOC … you not only have put the Olympics in a virtual war zone, but after the slap-in-the-face insult you delivered to Chicago, you have managed to add to the list of cities like Denver that will never apply to host the Olympics again.

Fortunately, the Chicago Olympic committee needn't search far for someone who can relate ...

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.

http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2009-09-18/how-safe-is-your-college/?cid=bs:archive6#gallery=713;page=1;item=

A recent survey of on and off campus violence has been collated into a list of the 25 most dangerous colleges and universities in the nation; some of which I have some indirect connections to, thanks to friends and acquaintances:

#25: The College of St. Rose (Albany, NY)
#24: University of California (Riverside, CA)
#23: Yale University (New Haven, CT)
#22: New Jersey Institute of Technology (Newark, NJ)
#21: Alabama A & M (Normal, AL)
#20: Harvard University (Cambridge, MA)
#19: Buffalo State College (Buffalo, NY)
#18: Brown University (Providence, RI)
#17: Springfield College (Springfield, MA)
#16: California State University (Monterey Bay, CA)
#15: Norfolk State University (Norfolk, VA)
#14: University of Baltimore (Baltimore, MD)
#13: Hampton University (Richmond, VA)
#12: Illinois Institute of Technology (Chicago, IL)
#11: Fitchburg State College (Fitchburg, MA)
#10: North Carolina Central University (Durham, NC)
#9: Bowie State University (Prince George’s County, MD)
#8: South Carolina State University (Orangeburg, SC)
#7: Grambling State University (Grambling, LA)
#6: University of Maryland – Eastern Shore (Princess Anne, MD)
#5: Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Cambridge, MA)
#4: Tufts University (Medford, MA)
#3: University of Maryland (Baltimore, MD)
#2: St. Xavier University (Chicago, IL)
#1: Emerson College (Boston, MA)

In short: don’t send your kids to college in Massachusetts or Maryland unless they have taken self defense courses.