Adult Supervision

I know, Comrade, that it has been a year since I have written here, but things have been difficult. When not fighting on the front line to save our souls, I have been hard at work attempting to forge new pathways in the minds of our youth. And it is in those attempts that I have become so tired. So very tired.

Understand this: I love being a teacher. There is nothing more refreshing, more invigorating, than watching a student take in your words and ideas and create his or her own ideas from that base. You begin to see that if there is a God (a big if), he gave us free will and the ability to learn because it is amazing.

Unfortunately my work has depleted my energy more than fighting in the trenches. And more than the students, it is the adults...the authorities in charge...that are causing me pain and in many ways.

Let us begin with my colleagues.

I get along with those within my department. They fight the good fight...just like me. Many of them, however, are unwilling to take the extra step. Our district has lost the battle to the bureaucrats. As such the entire curriculum will change. This means having to re-write all of our lesson plans to now make a faceless community happy. The problem is, comrades, that only myself and one other colleague are really working. We have taken our proven battle tactics and converted them. All the while our compatriots are whining about how hard it will be. And so they will barely work, and then ask me and my fellow worker to help them with the work. And by help they mean do it.

Outside of my department, while some of my fellow menials are fantastic, others are causing problems. One, for example, has made intonations that I am doing inappropriate actions with a student. His intonation was made to the parent, who has decided to complain about him, but wants me to speak to it. Others are people who have just quit. I may get angry at times, comrades, but I still do what I can to help pass the students. Several of my compatriots do not...and then go after me for "raising the bar."

Finally, however, there is management. They mean well, and one member is absolutely fantastic, but the bottom line is that the C.E.O. Our Napoleon, our Stalin... our Obama... is lost. She has given up on us and is now protecting her job. Let me give you some examples:

1. She has put some of the older workers on performance plans. Not because they need them, but because she doesn't like them.
2. She has called out the workers for not being rigorous enough...but yelled at some of the workers for having too high expectations.
3. She fired several members of the company via email...then said to them that it wasn't her fault.

I could go on and on.

What I would tell you, Comrade, should you ever decide to be an educator is to prepare for the political aspects. Keep your head down. I am not good at that, and it has led me to trouble.

Robert Frost, an American poet who wishes to be as fantastic as I was in Paris, once wrote:

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

I am telling you, Comrade, do not take the road I did. I care about the kids, and it has put me in trouble. I want to have my voice heard, and that has put me in trouble.
The companies here no longer want to hear the voice of the workers. All they care about is our product's numbers. Not if they understand the work, just that they graduate. Just that the product is on the shelves.

If you are desperate to make a difference, there are roadblocks. There are opportunities as well. Just learn to play the game. It's a pig's world. Be a donkey.

Here endeth the lesson.

For Margaret

If you have not checked out the work over at Sopheava de Lumiere, then you, comrade, are missing out.
It is brilliant work.

Now Ms. Margaret is a friend...and she is also a fan of Mr. Andrew Bird.
So it is for her that I present Andrew Bird on a children's show.
Enjoy

Alternative Theme: Saul Bass

This is fantastic. This is why, even though modern Hollywood is falling apart, movies are wonderful.

Throughout the film's history, Saul Bass designed the title of several films, such as Psycho, North by Northwest, and Spartacus.

This is what it would look like if Bass had designed the opening to Star Wars.

Just in case you need a refresher.

Actuality of Mind

Comrade, it's horrible when the mind comes to realize certain things.

Sleep is the enemy. This is what my body is telling me with my insomnia. If I sleep, then I can't work. If I don't work, then I can't prepare and make everything all right.

I can't save them all. I want to, but it's impossible. They make it hard for me to want to try and save them when they treat others so badly. If I can't even leave for a day, then why should I really try to help?

If the state and length of our lives is nothing more than a snowflake in a blizzard, then what is the ultimate goal? The ultimate purpose?
We constantly ask the universe, "Why are we here?" Is that the right question? Shouldn't the question really be, "What is it that you want?"
And what is it that the universe, or God, or Time, or Fate, or the little old man named Murray that lives in the Sun wants?
Mankind...humanity desperately wants a purpose, but why is it needed? Why MUST we have a reason for living? You have an ant farm just so you can watch the ants go about their lives. Usually there is no grand experiment. What if it is the same for us? It could be that there is no grand purpose but a sense of cosmic voyeurism.

We fight for out principles, but hypocrisy is our greatest luxury as human beings. Everyone says they want to help.
Stop global warming.
Help the homeless.
Save our fellow man/animal/cause.
Yet, when the time comes to truly act, so many of us do nothing. The road to Hell is paved with good intentions, but sights are all courtesy of the hypocrites who walk the path.

We, as human beings, fathom the infinite on a daily basis. We constantly question. The problem, however, isn't the questioning. That leads to growth. The problem is that our next generation does not question...they believe they have the answers. They cannot leave anything to chance.

New Money....Old Money. The difference in the way people act is sadly divided in this way.
Too many teenagers these days have too much privilege, and we are all suffering for it. Not even Icarus can save us this time.

Love is a fragile construct. There are many metaphors and similes to describe an emotion about which we know so little. It is also the emotion that we dictate to be the best, but to truly understand love is next to impossible. Not with all of its definitions and connotations and such.

Anger, though a damning emotion, is a wonderful fuel if used right.

Perhaps I'm wrong. Maybe, comrade, there is a higher purpose for everything, but if it's all in the details, then the flaws of mankind are showing themselves to me at a greater frequency. Trust is dying.

Maybe Jack Burton was right.

Here endeth the lesson.

For Monica

Here is the trailer for Michel Gondry's new film: Be Kind, Rewind.
A brilliant concept to be sure (and one that makes directors everywhere think, "that could be me."

Even better, however is Gondry's take on his own trailer. That can be viewed here.

If you loved Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, then this one is right up your alley.

Here Endeth the Lesson.

An Open Letter to Boston and the New England Patriots

Dear Boston and the New England Patriots,

I have to thank you. You have proven one of my lessons about the Epic Hero.

Before I explain, let me just add one thing:

You can suck it.

For weeks, the world has had to listen to the fans in Massachusetts talking about how Boston is, "The new Title Town," and how the Giants are just cocky and would lose big.

Simulations were run which showed that the Patriots would walk away with the game.

Pundits screamed about how boring the game would be.

And then there were the New England Patriots, who went out and not only trademarked the term "A Perfect Season," but also had 100,000 copies of a book printed called 19-0.

This is the classic example of the underdog, and it is an even better example of hubris. Let's start with the former.

For some reason, humanity loves an underdog. We always cheer for the little guy to overcome the obstacles. We develop a pathos with the underdog team or person or athelete or whatever, and we truly feel that we understand how that person feels.

"I've overcome obstacles, too," Joe or Jane Doe thinks. "That person (or team) is just like me. No one gives me credit either."

Even in The Bible we have an underdog. Matchups, like tonight's Super Bowl, are considered similar to David and Goliath.

If the pathos is not developed, then we still look at the underdog in an existentialist way. "I was wrong. The other team/person/etc. did have a chance." At the same time, the underdog also defines Existentialism. We look within ourselves to see what we should believe. If we think that the person being given little chance deserves more, then we are tied into the underdog.

Let's just say that somewhere Sartre is laughing.

As for hubris. Ah, the very essence of what's wrong with most heroes. New England got cocky. Bill Belichick, the coach, likes the play games when it comes to answering questions. Tom Brady felt that the predictions of anyone other than New England were silly. Boston fans and sports pundits felt this was a slam dunk.

And yet New York won. Wonder how Mitt Romney feels about this?

When we are on top of our game, regardless of the field, we feel indestructible. That feeling of never losing, never not winning, and then shouting that feeling at others is hubris. It's modern term is egotistical.

You were full of hubris, Bostonians and Patriot fans. You were so sure that New York would get killed. "45-21," I heard one guy say on the radio, "because the Patriots are the best team EVAH (accent included)."

The Epic Hero, such as Ajax, can become full of hubris, and it will lead to demise. Ajax believed he was above the law of the gods, and he paid for it with his life.

The Patriots believed they were better than everyone else in the NFL and walked with a swagger that was almost sickening...and yet they paid for it.

18-1.

Somewhere the 1972 Dolphins are laughing, because they are still the only true undefeated team.

Somewhere bookies are laughing at the amount of money lost by people who thought they had that sure winner in the Patriots.

Somewhere in Boston, a man in a Tom Brady jersey is crying into his beer about an NFL conspiracy and how "The Pats will be back."

And deep in their locker room in Arizona, the Patriot players are realizing that a team that doesn't win the championship and guaranteed they would is nothing more than a pretender.

Odysseus paid for his hubris in being lost for years and having to defeat over a hundred men after his wife. Achilles died partially due to his hubristic nature. Ego is healthy, but too much will kill you.

We usually forget the loser of the Super Bowl. This time...we'll remember the loser more than the winner.

This proves that there is no such thing as perfection. We have perfect moments, but those are short and last only in our memories. The Patriots have shown the world that perfection is truly divine and not for us.

So thank you New England Patriots and Boston. You're arrogance has allowed me to not only feel good about the chances that underdogs have in the modern world, but it allows me to instruct others on what happens and how we deal when our ego is suddenly deflated.

Thank you for showing the world that sometimes the best and brightest cannot predict the outcome. That sometimes our foibles get the best of us.

Of course, by not cheering for the Patriots...does that mean I'll be considered a terrorist?

And, of course, what do I know? I'm actually a Jets fan. I could be wrong.

Signed,

A guy who loves to see the underdog win.

The Second Commandment

Lesson Two.

Big Brother is Watching.

In the modern world, technology has made most, if not all, information available at your fingertips. The government knows this, but so does everyone else. Cellphone signals can be picked up, email and interweb chats can be copied, and people will even dig in the trash and recycling to find whatever information they can. The use of the Web has made things even easier than it used to be.

The most common practice of getting what you want when you can't pay for it is stealing someone else's identity. This is not a very hard practice. Find a poor soul who isn't smart enough to realize that the poor prince from Nigeria really is a drug addict in a basement in Des Moines, and convince him or her to send money. "All I need is a credit card/social security number/bank account." Whatever works.

If you apply for a job, the company will most likely do a background check that will include the FBI (are you a felon?), and possibly a Google search.

There is so much information about you out there, and the more you add, the easier it is to find you.

Of course, there are the simpler ways to track:
There are cameras everywhere.
The cable and satellite companies can track what channels you're watching and make "suggestions."
Banks keep track of your purchases and can call you if they "suspect" something.
Your computer gets updates to help it run better.

And yet, Comrade, I always remember what Mama Orwell always said:
"If you can see the Empire State Building...The Empire State Building can see you."

We are a voyeuristic society that enjoys peeking on everyone, yet we don't want someone else looking in on us.

If you want total anonymity, you have to go off the grid. This means no phones, no computers, no bank cards.
You work in cash, you store the money under the mattress, and you contact others by only face to face contact. That's how avoid Big Brother....
Or you call the phone company and ask if the government is paying its bills, and if they aren't you remove the wiretaps until they pay up. I mean $60,000 bills that aren't paid? And you're going to hound me on a $30 parking ticket? That's blasphemy, Comrade.

Be safe and careful. Don't be stupid and post pictures of yourself doing illegal activities, because someone will know.
Don't make threats over the phone, as someone is listening. Don't believe me? Look up The Conversation.

And if you must be watched, be boring. Because, Comrades, if you're life is boring, no one will want to watch...and that's when you can do fun things.

Here endeth the lesson.