Banned Book Week

Can I just tell you how much I HATE it when somebody tells me I can't do something simply because THEY don't want me to do it? HATE IT HATE IT HATE IT. I'm not talking about giving me a good reason for not doing something; I'm talking about censoring me based on their prejudices. Tell me I can't do something for those reasons and I'll move hell and high water to do it.

As a writer and an avid reader myself, I do self-censor. I don't like books that are racist, sexist, any kind of phobic so I don't read them. But that's my choice. I'm glad when publishers give a heads up when their books contain that kind of stuff. If that floats your boat, so be it but I choose to avoid it.

Now, that being said, I get all tore up when I hear about books being banned. Some holier than thou folks getting together and deciding that a book has questionable material therefore NOBODY should read it. Let the hair pulling and book whipping (imagine a pistol whipping with a book instead) commence.

The American Library Association sponsors the Banned Books Week each year to call attention to this travesty and urges everyone who hates this sort of censorship to read one of this year's banned books. This year's Banned Books Week is September 28-October 2. As usual classics like To Kill a Mockingbird, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and The Catcher in the Rye are on the list. I'm sure you read them back in the day in school but it never hurts to go back and read them again. But there are also more pop culture stuff on the list too... the Twilight series, Jodi Piccoult's My Sister's Keeper and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Imagine if somebody somewhere told you that you couldn't read the last Harry Potter book! Them's fightin words!

If you have the time, check out the comprehensive list of banned books at ala.org and read one. Thumb your nose at the folks who want to tell us what we can and can't read.

200 Years of Oktoberfest

OK so it's not exactly something that we get to enjoy in this neck of the world, but c'mon folks, can you imagine being a part of a 2 1/2 to 3 week long festival celebrating friendship, food and beer? How much better could it get? I'm pretty darn sure my brother would be giving a big "Hell yeah!" on that one.

This year's Oktoberfest, which kicked off on September 18, is actually the 200th anniversary of the celebration. There are imitations around the world but the real deal is in Munich, Bavaria, Germany. The first Oktoberfest was held in 1810 to celebrate the marriage of Bavaria's Prince Ludwig (the future King Ludwig I) to his lovely bride Princess Therese of Saxe-Hildburghhausen (imagine putting that on your return address!) The people of Munich were invited to enjoy picnics, parades and horse races. The original Oktoberfest was so successful that the Bavarian government decided to hold it annually and the lands where the main tents are erected are called the Theresienwiese to this day to honor Princess Therese.

Beer didn't actually become a part of the festival until 1895- weird huh? But believe me, ever since, it has been a common part of Oktoberfest. They took statistics at the 100th anniversary in 1910 and realized that 120,000 litres of beer were consumed. For us Americans, that's over 31000 gallons. Wonder how much will be sucked down this year? The average cost of a beer at Oktoberfest is 8.5 Euros or about $11.40. That's a little pricey in my book but the Germans are known for their beer so I'm sure it's the good stuff.

Of course, there's plenty of food too. The Bavarians will munch on traditional delicacies like bratwurst and sauerkraut (that's sausage and cabbage for us). And then they've got the stuff that will make you go "hmmm" or gag depending on your sensibilities. They'll be dipping their pretzels in Obatdza, a spicy cheese sauce with extra fat mixed in. How about some Haxn or pork knuckles? Nothing better than a good pork knuckle is there? And my favorite is Rokeg which is ground meat and blood mixed together and baked like a pastry or casserole. I don't know which grosses me out worse, the "blood" part or the fact that they don't identify what the "meat" is.

Regardless, somewhere between now and the festival's end on October 4, if you find yourself with a beer in hand, remember that it's Oktoberfest and raise your brew with a resounding chant of "Tiki, Tocki, Tiki, Tocki, Oy, Oy, Oy!" (They really do that; it's not just a Man Show thing!)

Monday Classes Test #1 Curve

I always laugh when test #1 rolls around because you guys freak out like crazy, worried to death about passing. I know, I know, it's the first test with a new teacher thing but it never fails that people always do really well. Who knows, maybe it's me and I should make my tests harder so they'll be more of a challenge.

Before I go over the curves, let me go ahead and warn the M/W Columbia class- I WILL NOT have the essays graded for you tomorrow. I'm waiting on the powers-that-be to send out the rubric so at the very least it will be Monday. If they are slower than that, it might be later than that. But I will get them back to you as quickly as I can.

Now for the info you've been waiting for...

Columbia M/W class- your class average on the test was 84! There was a 100 on the test- and don't worry, I'll be bragging on you tomorrow when I hand back the Scantrons- so I had to go to the next highest grade for the curve. Since we had a 98, everybody gets a curve of 2 points. Let the happy dancing commence!

Franklin Monday class- you guys got a sneak peek last night but I did go back and check just to make sure. The class average was an 89- pat yourselves on the back and hope the Friday class doesn't unseat you guys as the test #1 masters- and with 2, count 'em 2! 100's, the 2nd place 98 also gave you guys a curve of 2 points. Happy dance for you guys too!

Two things of note- #1 I still have several folks who signed up for the blog but I can't tell by your screen name who you are (for example, I have 3 William/Wills signed up and I have a total of 6 Williams this semester. I don't know who any of you are!) If you get your Scantron back without the blog bonus on it and you signed up, check with me after class so I can check the follower's list and find you.

#2- don't get complacent. Just because you did well on test #1 doesn't mean you don't have to study for test #2. Often I see a lot of people who do well on test #1 go south on test #2. Don't be a statistic.

Countdown to Test #1

Just wanted to take the time to remind all 3 of my classes that your first test is coming up in your next class meeting.

For the multiple choice part of the test:

BRING YOUR PENCILS!!!! Did you hear that? BRING YOUR PENCILS!!!! I won't have any and you can't count on the goodwill of others to share with you. And I hate to say this part because it should be obvious but...make sure your pencil has an eraser.

STUDY!!!! This ought to go without saying also but... read your notes, know the key terms, read the assigned stuff from the book. If you are able, get with somebody else from class and study together. I've always found that tag-team study sessions lead to better grades.

For the assessment essay part of the test:

You'll need notebook paper and pen or pencil for this. I prefer black or blue ink but I'm more concerned with being able to read your writing. That's the most important part. I'm not in the business of decyphering chicken scratch, so if you write like a doctor, you'll want to put a little effort into legibility.

Remember, the essay comes directly from the dedicated lecture and terms sheet. You aren't going to have to dig around in your brain for info from all the other lectures for this.


Columbia M/W 2:00 class- I'm planning to be in the classroom as soon as Dr. Andrews lets his class out. That way I can answer any last-minute questions you have.

Monday Night Franklin class- for those of you who want, we'll be meeting at 5:00 in room 108 for a last-minute cram session. Should the room # change, I'll post signs so you can find me.

Friday Franklin class- cram session @ 10:30 in room 103.

All of the multiple choice questions are "choose from ABCD" format. I don't do True/False, fix the false to make it true, matching or any other crazy questions like that. However, there are "Which of these is true/not true" so you do have to read the the questions AND all the answers carefully.

I'll post the curves here on the blog ASAP.

As always, email me if you have any questions and good luck to you all!

The TLC

Nope, I'm not talking about The Learning Channel or a little Tender Loving Care (although both are good, don't get me wrong). I'm talking about the Teaching and Learning Center at Columbia State. People are always asking me where they can go for help with their English classes or math classes. You guys ought to know by now that me and math are like oil and water so luckily, the folks at the TLC can help you.

This is a huge service that Columbia State provides. Take advantage of it, seriously. It's free! Get that? FREE!!!! Gina and the folks at the main campus are great. If you are a Franklin student and don't want to make the drive south, there's a branch at the Franklin campus too. It's free and they will help you.

One caveat, when I say "help" I really do mean "help." You can go to them for writing advice but you actually have to do the work. They aren't going to do the writing for you. However, it's nice to have someone who will check over your work for you and make sure you are on the right track.

If you think the TLC can help you, get in touch with them. I sent out an email with their contact info to all of your chargernet email accounts. You can also look them up on the website.

Happy writing and cheers to better grades!

Remembering 9/11

When we think of history, we think of things that happened decades, centuries, millenia in the past. But there are some moments in time that become history in the exact second that they occur. At 8:36 EST September 11, 2001, America was faced with one of those history making moments.

If you talk to your grandparents or great-grandparents, they can likely tell you exactly where they were and what they were doing when they heard about the Japanese attacks on Pearl Harbor. Same thing with your parents and the news of the JFK assassination. For my generation and my daughter's generation, the 9/11 attacks will be forever etched into our memories and our history.

It was at that moment that we realized how vulnerable we were. Yes, we had always half-joked that there were people out there who hated the United States but from the moment we learned that this was a terrorist attack, we now had to come to terms with the fact that this hatred wasn't a joke- there were people who hated our lives, our government, our God so much that in an attempt to break us they caused the death of thousands of innocent Americans, injury to even more thousands and a wave of grief and despair sweeping across this country.

Nine years later, we are still looking for all of the answers because we simply can't fathom that human beings can do such things to one another. But what I can tell you is that the perpetrators of that heinous act DID NOT achieve their goals. The DID NOT break us. As a matter of fact, in many ways, 9/11 actually brought us closer together. Every American suffered. Even if you weren't in New York City or Washington D.C. or in Pennsylvania, you agonized over what happened. Although some folks gave him a lot of flack over his song, I think that Toby Keith hit the nail on the head with "Courtesy of the Red, White, and Blue: The Angry American."

What I saw on the day of the attacks- and in the ensuing days and weeks of news footage- wasn't a broken country. I saw heroes. The President of the United States and the Mayor of New York City stood firmly. NYC police and fire department workers rushed INTO the burning World Trade Center doing everything they could to save people even after it was obvious that the chance of finding survivors was slim to none- often sacrificing themselves in the process. These are true heroes.

I will freely admit that I cried yesterday listening to Michael Delgiorno's 9/11 rememberance. I will freely admit that I'm crying as I write this today. I urge all of you to remember what happened September 11, 2001, and on all of the days since. And above all, do not ever forget the significance of the words "Let's Roll."

The Return of SAMCRO

If you've been a follower of this blog for any length of time, you already know what a TV junkie I am. I'm always jonesing for new episodes of my favorite shows. And I don't mind telling you that I get all kinds of excited when September gets here and the fall season starts back up. Last night proved to be one of those times. Since I don't have classes on Tues/Thurs this semester, I had all day long to wait with baited breath for 9:00 to get here because that was when season 3 of Sons of Anarchy began. When the opening notes of the theme song began, I freely admit that I felt that little thrill of anticipation, knowing something good was about to happen.

****NOTE- If you haven't watched last night's ep yet, stop here. SPOILER ALERT****

Season 2 ended with a bang. There was a huge power struggle between Jax and Clay over what direction SAMCRO needed to go down in the future. Gemma was dealing with her own problems- the aftermath of her brutal attack and the fact that she was now on the lam since ATF Agent Stahl had framed her for a double murder. To top it all off, Jax, Tara and the rest of the Sons were broken by baby Abel's kidnapping.

If season 2 ended with a bang, you could still smell the gunpowder when season 3 started. All I have to say is "WOW!" Kurt Sutter, the show's creator and writer, let it be know pretty quickly that none of the loose ends were going to be easily tied together.

The power struggle is still there. Clay tells Jax at one point that the two of them represent the past, present and future of the MC and that their actions from here on out would determine the club's future. Reading between the lines, their fight can wait while they deal with the Abel and Gemma situations. I really hope their fight doesn't completely stay on the back burner, because I really loved it when the two of them had that big knockdown dragout in jail last season!

Poor Gemma. She's hiding out in some fleabag motel in Oregon with only Tig and a bunch of Oregon Sons for protection/company. She has to stay in hiding until they can prove that Stahl is framing her. She's on the verge of stir crazy and I can't blame her (if I only had Tig for company, I'd be stir crazy too!). To keep her from freaking out any worse, they haven't told her about the baby's kidnapping. How much more can a person deal with, right??? Dump finding out that your mom just died and your senile dad is all alone on top of that. Even though it's dangerous, Gemma makes Tig take her to see her dad. Gemma's a bad mamma jamma! I so want to be like her when I grow up.

Poor Tara. She's just barely holding it together. Her job was in jeopardy last season because of her association with SAMCRO and now because of Abel's kidnapping, her doctoring skills are slipping away. In a child's surgery, she completely loses it, huge panic attack. I can't blame her though. She was there, in the house, when the Irish kidnapper shows up, kills Half Sack and steals the baby. The only thing that happened to her is getting tied to the chair. She knows that Jax blames her- should she, could she have done more to save Abel and Sack? Is she overanalyzing it? Of course she is, but I mean duh!!!! She's a woman, we overanalyze everything! I know I do. We know we shouldn't do it but I think overanalysis is ingrained in the double-X chromosome situation.

Poor Jax!!! If the women are barely holding it together, he's falling apart. Tara's right (see, sometimes we are right when we overanalyze!!!), he is blaming her for Abel's kidnapping. But he's also blaming himself- for not being there to protect his baby and for dragging Tara into this life. He's torn between anger, depression, the need for vengeance, all the gambit of emotions. God love him, he breaks down in the shower and just sits down and cries. Personally, I would gladly have jumped in to comfort him, wash his back, whatever...

Regardless of my drooling over Jax, I can't wait for next Tuesday. If the season premiere is any indication of where Sons is going, hold on tight cause it's going to be a wild ride!

Ancient Funeral Feast found in Northern Israel

I hate to use the word "cool" when beginning a post about a funeral feast, but I can't help it- I find this story so cool!!! (I'm just weird that way, so shoot me)

Archaeologists from the University of Connecticut and the Hebrew University in Jerusalem were so excited to unearth what they thought was a Paleolithic era campsite. I imagine their excitement turned into an all-out happy dance when they realized that it wasn't just a short-term campsite, but instead a place where a group of early humans stopped to hold a burial feast for a beloved member of their group.

In one area of the site, the archaeologists found several cooking stations. The reason they call them "cooking" stations as opposed to "ritualistic sacrifice" stations is because the evidence shows that the animal bones had been butchered, cooked and gnawed upon as opposed to the typical way animal bones look after sacrificial rites. Enough animal bones and large tortoise shells were found to make the scientists think that the group was a large one, likely several dozen people.

In the central area of the site, three bodies were discovered. Two of them, a young woman and the unborn baby she was carrying, showed typical burial traditions of the region. The third skeleton was most likely a tribal elder. Her body was buried with obvious care. A leopard, an eagle and a stone marten were buried with her. Each of these animals were important to early humans in the area and the fact that one of each was buried with her show how highly ranked she was to the tribe. Her bones show her to be about 45 at her death. This was considered elderly for that time period (I have a very hard time writing "elderly" and "45" together because I'm staring down the barrel of 40). She also had a congenital hip defect that probably made her walk with a painful limp her entire life.

What makes this site extremely significant to archaeologists and historians is the fact that it is the oldest of its kind found thus far. There have been many such sites from the much-later Neolithic time period. While the Neolithic sites have been extremely helpful in telling us about these early humans, hopefully we will learn even more from this Paleolithic site.

Happy Labor Day!

Ahh, Labor Day... a day set aside to honor all the hard work we put into our jobs. A day where the bosses have to pay us NOT to work. And it's a Monday so we get a long weekend. Isn't it just wonderful!?!

But why do we even have a day set aside in the calendar just to honor workers?

That one is easy peasy to figure out if you know anything about workers' unions. Back in the Gilded Age, the late 1800's, business and industry were booming in the United States. There were factories springing up all over the place and plenty of workers lining up to work. But it was all about the owner- how much money did the factory make, how could the owner cut costs or safety to increase profits? The poor workers often got screwed in this.

Suddenly, workers began to realize that there were safety in numbers. There were a whole lot more workers than there were owners. Workers began to bind together in unions. That way, workers could push for better working conditions. If their demands weren't met, union workers would go on strike. Strike= no workers= no profits.

It was a rocky road for early unions, more downs than ups. But there were plenty of strikes that made owners and the government stand up and realize that workers were important. Keep workers happy= more profits.

After the 1894 Pullman Strike, President Grover Cleveland pushed Congress to quickly formally adopt Labor Day as a Federal holiday honoring the hard work of America's working class. Labor Day was actually signed into law with only 6 days of discussion (pretty fast for Congress!).

Now, Labor Day seems to be synonymous with the end of Summer. No more wearing white until Easter, the weather is beginning to cool (thank goodness!) and the foliage is on the verge of showing its beautiful Fall color scheme. And even more important, Labor Day weekend marks the beginning of the college football season.

So enjoy your sleeping late, your picnic, your Two and a Half Men marathon on FX, whatever floats your boat today and get ready to get back into the swing of things tomorrow.

The Basics

With a new semester starting, we may have some new names and faces joining our little blog family. Welcome, welcome! I just wanted to give you "The Basics" to help you get started.

#1- Become a follower. To the left is a list of current followers. Click on the "follow" box with the Google "g". If you have a gmail (Google email), Yahoo or Twitter account, becoming a follower is easy- you just sign in with your username and password and your info is transferred over.

It's a little harder if you don't have one of these accounts. Click on the "create a new Google account" link. What you are actually doing is creating a gmail account so don't forget your username and password. You'll need to know them to sign back in later. You'll also get the chance to add a pic. I'm sorry for all the trouble but this is a Google site and my blog is free so I bow to the wisdom of Google.

Regardless of which path you have to take to become a follower, be sure to "follow publicly" so you show up on the list.

#2- Read, comment, start a discussion with other followers/commenters, suggest ideas for future posts. I'm always looking for new ideas to discuss. Also, if you have books/movies/etc that you want to recommend to fellow followers, let me know. You can do a guest post telling us all why you like it. The only thing that I ask is that you keep all comments PG-13. We have a few youngsters in our blog family.

#3- Pass the site to others. Please share the site with friends, family, co-workers, Facebook/Myspace friends, anybody and everybody. Let them know that we discuss all kinds of stuff (and yes, I do slip in a little history here and there.) My dream is to see the number of followers skyrocket. More people= more ideas. Let's make our little blog family get big!

Thanks for being here! Enjoy!