April 2012
16 posts
Heard in a classroom
Teacher: How do you know?
Student: I saw it in a book and I trust books. Duh!
The Hare and the Pineapple →
usny.nysed.gov
This bit of absurdity was administered to 8th grade students in New York as part of their yearly state assessment. The story is a nonsense tale masquerading as an Aesop with a moral that has driven many to exasperation (though might, in sentiment, be familiar to fans of Going Postal and similar stories). Google will yield several articles on the subject and the going hashtags on Twitter are #pineapplerebellion and #pineapplegate.
And for the sake of curiosity—which animal do you think said the wisest thing?
“Infeasibility is just a state of mind.”
—heard at a training session
Self-Sorting
Because, honestly, if you read the Harry Potter books, you did this.
By House
Gryffindor— (Courage/Bravery) When I want something, I will face my fears if necessary. I do also hesitate too long sometimes. Fear of failure/dislike for a task/etc can lead to long-term avoidance that causes larger problems in the end.
Hufflepuff— (Just/Loyal/Patient/Accepting) (Okay, seriously, these are the people I’d want for my best friends). I am impatient, but I will do what I need to do. I talk with and befriend all sorts of people. I will do alotfor my friends.
Ravenclaw— (Witty/Clever/Wise/Intelligent) (Again, seriously, is it any wonder that the Claw House isn’t exactly one big happy family? You’ve smushed together the people who think smarts and being smart are most important with the people who think clear sight, wisdom, and discernment are most important. Poor, poor Ravenclaws). I am intelligent. I highly prize learning, both to achieve something and for its own sake. I enjoy analyzing texts and doing work that engages my brain. I love to write.
Slytherin— (Cunning/Ambitious/Ends Justify Means) When I want something, I do what I need to do to achieve it. I set my sights on something and then I figure out how to get there. The things that are important are important. So I’ll do quite a bit for a friend. I’ll study extra on something I want to learn. I’ll put myself in the role of the student and cultivate teachers/mentors/people who want to see me succeed. I’ll face my fears. I do not, however, believe that that the ends always justify the means, nor do I believe that a short-cut is always the best route.
So, self-sorted into Slytherin. I want Puff friends, but usually end up with Gryffs. I’m not dark. I’m not edgy. I’m not power-hungry. But I am ambitious and I will do what it takes to get what I want. I have been, in the past, accused of being cold or using people. I now make effort to not do so.
Second-House, probably Hufflepuff. I do prize learning, but I would wilt in academia. I prefer doing things and working with people. I’m not afraid of hard-work when its needed and I am a very loyal person to the people who earn it. Of course, I am among those who believe that Hufflepuffs are the ones who make the WW work.
Honestly, the Hat probably would have been best to put me in Hufflepuff. Ambition and my willingness to go after my goals are a part of me. Being in an inclusive house, building strong connections with other people, learning to trust others, belonging to a group of peers and feeling secure in that belonging—those were things I’d needed as a child. I probably would have hated it at first, but it likely would have been the best place for me.
It is so much easier to focus in the pale light of my studio with the fan humming overhead and my laptop perched on one arm of my couch. My feet pulled up beneath me; the room echoing with ambient noise and quiet. At work, in this cubicle, my mind frays.
dr. who: inspector spacetime :: sherlock : ?
So, on Community (aka the best current American TV show), there is no Dr. Who…
instead, there is Inspector Spacetime.
So, it follows, there is no Sherlock…
instead, there is… what? I can’t even think of what awesome show would replace it. Possibly a version of Miss Marple updated to 21st century London? I really want to know now.
Madelyn!!!
Litmus test
Need to check if someone is really from the Chicagoland area? Ask them what the best Christmas movie is. If they answer anything other than A Christmas Story, they aren’t born-and-raised Chicagoans.
(Admittedly, this is only in my experience and my generation, but still, I do not get this movie at all, but everyone I know who grew up in/around Chicago regards it as the best Xmas movie, even if it is not their personal favorite).
thoughts while at work
- To add to the list of bad moments for spit-take: while at work & drinking hot tea
- Tools are not solutions. Tools help create solutions, but they are not solutions in of themselves. Tools—information, data, new standards, assessments—help; they do not fix. (A hammer does not hang a picture. A person with a nail, a wall space, a picture to hang, and the know-how of banging the hammer on the nail to create the space/opportunity for a hung picture hangs a picture.)
- Grooveshark can’t possibly be legal.
- http://cse.ucla.edu/products/guidebooks/rp10.pdf page 6. I realize this was written for a younger audience, but I think it might be a useful tool for writers before they send off stories to a beta/etc. I kinda want to create my own rubric now…
- So I could addicted to “Anna Sun” easily.
- Don’t tell me the bloody instrument is listed in Meece et al., because it isn’t. I’ve bloody well read Meece et. al. If the instrument had been there, I would not still be searching. Grr.
- A brief walk is nice. Especially when certain articles are not being cooperative.
- Jerk.
- Does anyone else have a problem with Pandora assuming you like songs for the wrong reason? Is there any way to make them stop assuming I like slow songs? I’ve tried the thumbs up/down, but after a while it becomes really, really frustrating and annoying.
- I am doubting my ability to get this task done before I get to go home. Bleh.
- Beneath the mountains and long, sweeping steppes, the air grew thick and moist. Vines and bright pink and purple flowers overgrew the roads, despite being frequently and obviously trampled and cut back. In the late afternoon, rain happened. The transition from from the overly warm humidity to just-as-warm downpour was instantaneous. Tasmid pushed his hair back away from his forehead and eyes and wondered how anyone could ever willingly live in such a place.
- …oh, Pandora. Emo is the exact opposite of what I want. *headdesk*
- and an hour late, finally going home.
earworms
…middle of making coffee and realized I was hum-singing Granger Danger from A Very Potter Musical…
Feels like my eyes have been transfigured / something deep inside has changed
“Don’t you, don’t you want to know things? Secrets of the head and the heart?”
—“Don’t you?” by I Fight Dragons
