text:
Monday, January 12, 2009
Am I surprised by 'Slumdog's......' success...?
While on Bollywood, I ran into one of my all -time favourite glam gals, Urmilla Matondkar last week.... and I had the best time chattering incessantly in Marathi. We were meeting after several years, and Urmilla looked as luscious as the day RGV spotted her. I watch 'Rangeela' at least once a year just to look at Urmilla and Aamir together. It was refreshing to talk to an older, but no less candid actress than the ingenue I'd met such a long time ago. Urmilla's sense of humour is intact. She is perhaps one of the most intelligent and well- informed actresses in Bollywood. Someone who can hold her own in any company. Put that down to her upbringing - she is a high IQ girl who can laugh at herself as she confesses, " I make fresh mistakes all the time in my choice of roles - but at least they are fresh!" We were joined by the lovely Vidya Balan - another well brought up and cultured actress, with impeccable manners. Plus, a beautiful, discreet mother who does not act like her shadow, but is always around just the same. Let's hope Vidya's new releases do something for her stalled career. The trouble is, her debut was unforgettable - audiences cannot and will not let her walk away from 'Parineeta'. That's Vidya's triumph.... but also a bit of a cross to bear. Ah well.... it was a fun evening. And the girls looked smashing. Baat khatam.
31 comments:
Baat khatam.
creative words :)
- January 12, 2009 at 1:51 PM
- Rashida said...
I think Vidya Balan has to bear the brunt of being amazing in Parineeta... One tends to get typecast in Bollywood... its the punishment of being awesome!!!
- January 12, 2009 at 3:30 PM
- Harshita said...
Well, contrary to your reputation of always pulling down people... you have written some awesome stuff straight frm ur heart here, abt two gorgeous women.
I am glad I did not give-in to the general opinion and followed your blog :)
- January 12, 2009 at 4:32 PM
- *Aham* said...
zopadpatti kutta karodpati... peeps into the life of real mumbai... what our directors give us the f. I mean fantasy or a "formula" (read madhur bhandarkar). Kitna pity na, we need a vilaayat ka chorra to come to india and shoot mumbaiin her true lighht.
urmila, is intelligent in real life??? she looks dumb in some of her flicks though...
Yes, Vidya's Mom Saraswati is not jaya chakraborty, who would police her daughter and keep a tab on her. Secondly, Vidya is educated and sauve, an alumni of our alma matter. What fascinates me most is that she fulfilled her TamBrahmical duties of acquiring a postgraduate degreee (in sociology, she is nandini sardesai's student)and then landed in advertisements. So safe a player, with an alternate plan ready. Chat up with Vidya or her Mom and one would be surprised that there could be a thinking breed of Bollywood chokri.
So with urmila, just that her BA degree doesnt reflect on her personalality. If Vidya belongs to thinking Bollywood, Urmi baby belongs to Belly wood.
- January 12, 2009 at 4:52 PM
- khush said...
- This comment has been removed by the author.
- January 12, 2009 at 4:52 PM
- Goofy Mumma said...
For some strange reason my post has got linked to this post of yours, can you please remove it from your links.
- January 12, 2009 at 4:57 PM
- Sarsij said...
I liked your point of view on the success of 'Slumdog......'
nice post
- January 12, 2009 at 5:03 PM
I still am of the opinion that, Hollywood or the west as whole is still hung up with the "3rd world /poverty face" of India. I also think the most important and overdue honors to AR RAHMAN was delightful to see.
- January 12, 2009 at 6:19 PM
- Manish Jain said...
Can we expect an under-dog good film win awards in our own country's awards??? Our cinema would grow by leaps and bounds the moment we start recognising the right talent at the right platforms... Do away with the star systems...
Manish Jain
- January 12, 2009 at 7:41 PM
- Raj Walia said...
Last night, I was watching Golden Globe and was really looking forward to A.R. Rehman's nomination. And I almost jumped out of the couch when they announced him the winner. It was a proud moment for me, for him and for One billion people back in India. You made us proud. You have taken Bollywood to a new level. God Bless you!
I personally did not like the subject. Why do you want to show the cruelty and torture? Why these goras (americans, englishmen) like crappy movies? The torture and cruelty stuff? Now, its been nominated at oscars and has already bagged many awards. What is wrong with the world?
Certain parts of this film do become interesting and capture the imagination, like when the brothers landed at the Taj Majal and instantly recognizing a business opportunity, became tour guides and entrepreneurs, stealing shoes, selling them for money, learning to SURVIVE! Amazing how quickly children can become little capitalists.
In first part of the film, kids have acted so good. They stole the show. Thumbs up to them!
But still "Slumdog" is too disturbing to be considered entertainment. Just there is so much of torture and violence in this world, does not mean you can cram it down our throat.
Please STOP. Do not come to India to shoot movies like these. We are much more than that what you think we are...
(New Jersey)
- January 12, 2009 at 9:30 PM
- Lubna said...
Baat khatam!! No way...never...Shobhaa De ki baat should never be 'khatam'. We love your articles full of mirch and masala. Yeah! Slumdog success sure is cool but do we always have to get awards for showing only our slums our poverty....India is such a beautiful country so are our people....when would we get to show that and be awarded for it as well I wonder??
You take good care of yourself Shobhaa....you are awesome and we sure are proud of you...:)
- January 12, 2009 at 10:19 PM
- Rajesh said...
Absolute truth Shobhaa, "it also makes immense business sense for Hollywood to finally acknowledge India's existence" Shobhaa De.
Love Peace
- January 12, 2009 at 10:46 PM
- Abhinav said...
I just this is the beginning of greater recognition to the industry and some individuals who richly deserve the honors
- January 12, 2009 at 10:46 PM
- Ashutosh Raina said...
Dear Shoba,
To tell you the truth, the film is worth watching once - the act by the small boys as well as the big boy is just amazing :)
Ashutosh Raina
- January 12, 2009 at 11:11 PM
- Another Kiran In NYC said...
I am going to say nothing about Slumdog and take up Shobhaas bandwidth. Come to my blog and see my point of view in two different posts (my review and todays post).
Urmila is truely "ambat god" chutney (thats sweet/sour in Marathi). Doesnt come off as too smart on screen or interviews, but being that she is a Marathi Mulgi she might well be really, really smart (yeah I am parochial... ha). She certainly adds chamak to the screen.
Vidya Balan is chalega. Parineeta wasnt thespian quality and I havent seen her in a semi decent movie since. Though to be fair, in Parineeta just the fact that Sunjay Dutt was there looking like a thug, made me want to squeeze my eyes shut and I probably missed Vidya's best parts.
Aham, I think perhaps Jaya Chakravarty being herself is the reason that Hema was successful. She did the dirty work and keeping Hema on track, allowing Hema to go from strength to strength looking virginal and like butter wouldnt melt in her mouth.
- January 13, 2009 at 12:35 AM
- Ramya Varma said...
Hello Ma'am, Yes I do quite agree with the fact that the west has not in the past recognized us Bollywood to such a great magnitude. All thanks to the economic recession.Its maybe a situation of blessing in disguise. Nevertheless, it was nice to see a good amount of Indian representation in the gathering and some of them even making a mark by winning the awards. I also feel bad for the indian artistes in a certain way because some of such great talented people dont even get recognized by the award panels even in India. They dont get National awards for some of their award winning performances. Sad ..But true. So can we blame the west..Well Maybe or maybe not. ATleast we have won some accolades now..People both in our country and abroad will now look at us seriously. Hope so.
- January 13, 2009 at 11:27 AM
- Rajnigandha Shekhawat said...
I have 3 loosly related points to make:
1) People in India who speak English and live in cities very easily forget that 95% of India is infact impoverished and in villages. Hell, i believe some 75% of Bombay's population lives in slums too. Us ignoring that or not admitting to it doesnt take it all away. So if some gora makes a movie on it its because other than us, everyone with a normal vision can see the slums and poverty that we choose to ignore all the time.
2) And when will we get over the excitemnt of a gora giving us awards anyway? I wonder if they care when we try to give them awards...Some music awards tried and failed due to lack of response
3) I agree with Manish - we in our award functions will never give best film or best directors award to Shyam Benegal for Welcome to Sajjanpur. That will go to Rab Ne or Singh is Kingg or Ghajini... Never A Wednesday...
- January 13, 2009 at 11:44 AM
- SUKUMARS said...
I liked the THREESOME.
Urmila, Vidya and above all
you Shobhaadi.
- January 13, 2009 at 12:35 PM
you are amazing! above all its you who look asmashing
- January 13, 2009 at 2:36 PM
- Maddy said...
Yesterday I watched your candid admission of seeing this movie on pirated CD/DVD.LOL! I am not surprised at your action when I read your previous post( movie review).
Like SRK said ( He wanted to do bollywood dance but the guys sitting there would kick him out)...... the same story would have been taken by our bollywood people in a completely different way and we would be kicked out of the race!!
Being Indians we can only take credit for the Indian stars and the kids who acted brilliantly in this movie and, of course for the musical genius AR Rahman. But the entire credit goes to the Director.
Apart from few Indians like Mira and Kapoor, we need attonboroughs to show the world who is Gandhi and India
- January 13, 2009 at 5:50 PM
- romulus said...
and what is all this going to do to the immense state of poverty that inia is in...let me answer my rhetorical question - precisely nothing. the movie is hardly a credit to india so why is there so much fuss. additionally, it is hardly anything to be proud of. it is simply making money on the lamentable situation. i'm no robin hood; but once again the destitute lose meanwhile the rich become richer.
- January 13, 2009 at 6:16 PM
Nope ... SM winning has nothing to do with business sense to promote Indian movies etc. Don't think of a conspiracy where there isn't one.
- January 14, 2009 at 7:23 AM
""""it also makes immense business sense for Hollywood to finally acknowledge India's existence.... and indirectly, Bollywood's importance in world cinema. """"
You are fooling yourself and all Indians are , if they think that Bollywood has any importance in the western world...C'mon dont be silly Ms De (and all other Indians who think likewise), Bollywood is something laughed at outside of India.. Slumdog is Slumdog coz of Danny Boyle, not Anil Kappor or Dev or Freida.. even SRK's presence was simply to spice it up, not to give Bollywood any importance ...c'mon, it's all Indian exotica which sold, not Bollywood.. Bollywood is tamasha .. purely entertaining, and purely for indians, and some few indophiles .. wake up Ms De.. smell the coffee..
- January 14, 2009 at 10:56 AM
- Vyazz said...
Well, I watched slumdog....few days ago. And I believe it just happened to be one of the most insightful films I have ever seen. Nevertheless as far as bollywood is concerned, I do hope they would take note of the type of cinema that really appeals to the public.
People have grown wary of the majority of the mindless comedies and the substanceless dramas it churns out by the dozen.
I suppose industry lacks decent writers.
Nevertheless....on a diffirent note altogether I had'nt realised you had a blog...I merely stumbled onto yours, and if it isi'nt too impertinent of me, would you like to visit my blog http://vedvyazz.blogspot.com/,
and let me know what you think. A small request from an amature writer to a successful columist. Thanks.
- January 14, 2009 at 6:58 PM
- Maximus said...
I couldn't help noticing how the main protagonist struggles to sink into that "chawlitla porga" role. Why would anybody cast an NRI as a slumdog...which btw way sounds better as "Jhopadi-kutta Crorepati"
- January 14, 2009 at 7:13 PM
This is a suggestion.
I suggest you leave spaces of enough girth between the paragraphs.That makes it easy on the eye.
Also, the statistics on your home page is showing some error.
Rest is okay. I was also enthralled by Slumdog! You can read about it on my blog.
Vikas Gupta, Delhi.
- January 14, 2009 at 10:46 PM
- KSH said...
Hi Shobhaa. I completely agree with you.
But just this morning, I was gobsmacked to know Big B's criticism of Slumdog Millionaire. And here's what I commented on TOI,
"I think Big B is losing it all. His review speakes volumes of his insecurity and misjudgment. I must give him credit nonetheless for recognizing Satyajit Ray's serious and "real" cinema and its coexistence with mind-numbing Bollywood commercial histrionics.
What he fails to see though is the marriage of the two genres in Danny Boyles superb film, "Slumdog Millionaire". In my opinion, Boyle's story is fantastical but based in real Bombay - the underbelly which has never before been showcased so beautifully and with such optimism in mainstream cinema.
As far as showing India in poor light is concerned, good heavens. Hasn't he seen films like the "City of God" or even the "City of Joy"? Big B rise up and appreciate good cinema instead of taking pride in ludicrous Indian films (like Chandni Chowk to China) premiering in Leicester Square. Pathetic."
And now on TOI online, I read Sanjay Dutt appointed by UNESCO as its goodwill ambassador against malnutrition????
What is the world thinking? I am completely gobsmacked!
- January 15, 2009 at 3:10 AM
- R S Prasanna said...
Hi, I am posting a link to my article in my blog, called, "Why I may become a slumdog millionaire quicker because of slumdog millionaire"
Comments and discussions invited. thanks.
- January 16, 2009 at 12:30 PM
- Thathy's Diary said...
audiences cannot and will not let her walk away from 'Parineeta'....Thats true.. I have heard alot abt slum dog, god knows...abt the success
- January 23, 2009 at 10:09 PM
- maha said...
no surpise ... it is a great sucess..
Work from home India
- November 9, 2009 at 4:45 PM
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- July 4, 2014 at 12:48 PM


text:
Wind instruments > Flute and Piano
Albert Roussel
Joueurs de flûte op. 27 for Flute and Piano
Editor: Marion Beyer
Fingering: Klaus Schilde
15.00 €
Urtext Edition, paperbound
Pages: 29 (VI, 17, 6), Size 23,5 x 31,0 cm
Order no. HN 1092 · ISMN 979-0-2018-1092-8
Level of difficulty (Flute): difficult (Level 7)
ABRSM: Grade 8 (recommended)
The stimulus for this work, composed in 1924, was given by the French flautist Louis Fleury, who also gave the first performance of the work. The four single pieces "Pan", "Tityre", "Krishna" and "Monsieur de la Péjaudie" (a character of a novel by Henri de Régnier) attempt to depict the nature of these imaginary flautists from mythology, religion and literature. Their specific cast is given by the sophisticated rhythm and striking harmony. It is fitting that this charming work has recently been enjoying increasing popularity.
Mit der Urtext Edition aus dem Musikverlag Henle wird das Werk nun in einer ihm würdigen Ausgabe verlegt. Hier wird es mit ausführlichem Vorwort, das zur Entstehung und Interpretation wichtige Gedanken liefert, ausgestattet, ein Kritischer Bericht befindet sich in seinem Anhang und es liegt ein sorgfältig, angenehmer Notentext vor. Unbedingt empfehlenswert bei der Anschaffung des Stückes ist es zu dieser Ausgabe zu greifen.
[Flöte aktuell, 2012]
The levels of difficulty of the
music for flute published by G. Henle Publishers
The levels of difficulty of the flute music published by G. Henle Publishers
"The task is easy - yet easy is difficult"
("Zwar ist es leicht, doch ist das Leichte schwer")
Goethe has Mephisto say this in "Faust II" and the categorizing of musical works according to their levels of difficulty is thus relative in the extreme! Relative – depending on the perspective of a teacher, a student or a performer; nevertheless using our Henle criteria we are trying to differentiate between works, grading them according to whether they are easy, medium or difficult. This classification system is intended as an orientation and a help for those trying to find a suitable work amongst all of the excellent Urtext editions. In order not to be daunted by pieces with the level of difficulty 9, perhaps we might somewhat subjectively claim that with practice Goethe's quotation may be reversed: "The task is difficult, yet difficult [may become] easy [too]!"
András Adorján © 2013

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Via Skype, former inmate sues Valley Street jail guardsBy MARK HAYWARD
New Hampshire Union Leader
June 25. 2013 8:11PM
MANCHESTER — Thomas Thompson is getting his day in court, his virtual day that is.
A Canadian deported from the United States after serving a prison term, he has been appearing in Hillsborough County Superior Court via the audio-video link Skype to sue three correction officers from the Valley Street Jail over his pre-trail confinement seven years ago.
"He's my client in a box," said Michael Sheehan, the Concord lawyer who has brought the case. In 2007, Thompson pleaded guilty to three counts of statutory rape, served his sentence at New Hampshire State Prison and was deported.
He is one of three former inmates at Valley Street Jail to bring suit against the county and several corrections officers over their treatment during 2006 and 2007.
After various rulings, the case has boiled down to three defendants — Vincent Williams, now a lieutenant at the jail; Todd Gordon, now a sergeant, and Nicholas Granville, who is now a Derry police officer.
Thompson claims he was handcuffed, beaten about the head and back, maced and had his head slammed into a wall. He also claims he was forced to wear the same clothes for 25 days, was given little food and threatened with retaliation if he complained.
On Tuesday, several officers testified that Thompson had to be pepper-sprayed and brought to the ground in May 2006 when he threw his shirt at a corrections officer while undergoing a strip search.
At the time, he told the corrections officers he would sue them and started hitting himself in the head, said Sgt. Ryan Levierge.
"It sounds like he wants money," Levierge said about the suit.
Earlier Tuesday, Thompson's public defender testified that when he visited him in May, his client had bruises on his face and scratched eye glasses.
"He didn't really want to talk about it, but he did explain he had been assaulted by the guards," said Scott Rankin, a former public defender who handled Thompson's criminal case. Rankin said he followed his client's wishes and did not report the injuries.
On Monday, several inmates testified that they heard screams coming from Thompson's cell when three corrections officers entered it.
Gordon Fuller said toilet flushes would drown out much of the sound from the cells.
"I heard clicking of (hand)cuffs and the toilet flushing, flushing and flushing," he said. "And I heard some guy scream in pain."
Three separate trials are being held involving the defendants. In May, a jury ruled in favor of the defendants over Juan Marquez. A trial is expected later this summer involving claims brought by Christopher Robinson.
Crime, law and justice Technology Social issues Manchester Top Section Stories


text:
There are increasing signs of friction between pro-Moscow separatists and local residents in eastern Ukraine, as some local people demand an end to the violence and lawlessness in the region. Meanwhile, one of Ukraine's richest men has repeated his call for a return to stability, calling on workers to show their support for a unified country.
From NPR News, this is ALL THINGS CONSIDERED. I'm Robert Siegel.
And I'm Audie Cornish. We begin this hour in Ukraine, where the political upheaval is unrelenting - from the past protests in central Kiev to Russia's annexation of Crimea and now to the conflict in the eastern part of the country. That's where pro-Russian separatists are vowing to prevent people from voting in Sunday's presidential election. They've seized the offices of local election commissions trying to disrupt the balloting. Today, Ukraine's richest man made a fiery speech denouncing the separatist-proclaimed People's Republic of Donetsk. He called on the people to oppose it. NPR's Corey Flintoff is in Donetsk.
COREY FLINTOFF, BYLINE: After sitting on the fence through much of the crisis in Ukraine, billionaire Rinat Akhmetov came out last week in favor of Ukrainian unity. He organized steelworkers from one of his biggest plants to take down separatist barricades in the port city of Mariupol. Yesterday, he issued a video statement that was even stronger, asking what is the People's Republic of Donetsk? What have they done for our region? What jobs have they created?
RINAT AKHMETOV: (Through translator) Does walking around the cities of our region with machine guns mean asserting the rights of the people before the central government? No. It's fighting against the region. It's genocide against the region.
FLINTOFF: Akhmetov then called on citizens to show their opposition to the separatists by honking their car horns at noon. His words produced this result on the main streets of Donetsk today.
FLINTOFF: Donetsk resident Inna Brainina welcomed Akhmetov's stand.
INNA BRAININA: (Through translator) I really like that he made a statement against the Donetsk People's Republic, and I completely support him on this issue.
FLINTOFF: Separatist leaders quickly condemned Akhmetov's move and threatened to nationalize his businesses for failure to pay taxes to the separatist government. Separatist supporters also rejected the opposition protest. This woman gave only her first name, Yelena, saying she was afraid of retaliation. She says Akhmetov is just trying to protect his business interests.
YELENA: (Through translator) I think most people here won't take part in the presidential elections because we already had a referendum here and it automatically excludes the possibility of having an election.
FLINTOFF: She's referring to the unofficial referendum that the separatists held to bolster their claim to represent the majority of people. But Inna Brainina says she plans to vote in the election, if it's at all possible, and she credits Akhmetov's statement.
BRAININA: (Through translator) I think many people were just waiting for that support, and financial support as well, and I think more people will come to vote.
FLINTOFF: Election observers say the election is likely to be a difficult one but Ukrainian officials say they plan to open as many polling places as possible. Corey Flintoff, NPR News, Donetsk. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.


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But a couple weeks ago, while searching for my friend Nathan's favorite vegan carrot cake recipe to make for his birthday, I ran across Jessy's Tofu 'n' Cabbage with Wasabi Awesomeness:
And this is some kind of awesome!!! I'm a huge fan of wasabi. It's a different kind of hot. Not spicy hot, just clear your sinuses hot. And this recipe calls for a homemade wasabi sauce that will blow your mind. The tofu is baked and served atop cabbage, carrots, and onions. Mmm-mmm.
On another note, Erin of Vegan in the City ran an interview on her blog a few weeks back and asked her readers if anyone would be up for an interview of their own. I signed up, so here goes:
1. If you were stranded on an island and could only bring 3 foods with you, what would they be and why?
Let's see — Baked flavored tofu (since I wouldn't be able to take any seasoning stuff to make it tasty), vegan mac & cheese (with broccoli in it so I can sneak in some veggies), and cupcakes ...
Pete Wentz of Fall Out Boy (and I just found out they're playing the Memphis In May music fest!!!!), Jack Kerouac, Emma Goldman, Tori Amos, and Isa Chandra Moskowitz & Terry Romero (I know that's six, but Isa and Terry count as one).
3. What is your all-time favorite movie to quote?
4. Breakfast, lunch, or dinner and why?
Um, yo I can't survive without all three. I will shrivel up and die if I miss a meal. Or at least get really bitchy.
5. Tell me one random thing that others in the blogosphere don't know about you!
I went to Barbizon modeling school when I was 14 because I had aspirations of becoming a model. Unfortunately, I'm 5'2" and models just don't come in that size! Modeling school was fun though. They taught us how to apply bad 80s makeup and walk on the runway. If nothing else, it brought me out of my shyness ... but I still get a little jealous when I watch America's Next Top Model.
To play along:
1. Leave me a comment saying, "Interview me." If a few people want interviews, I will randomly pick 2.
2. I will respond by commenting on your blog with five questions. (I get to pick the questions).
3. You will update your blog with the answers to the questions.
4. You will include this explanation and an offer to interview others in the same post.
5. When others comment asking to be interviewed, you will ask them five questions.


text:
Tie your brain into knots with this mind-bending puzzle game.
Track Controller Features
It's the opening morning of the model railway exhibition and your delivery men have scattered blocks of your railway track, seemingly at random. Panic! You must act quickly to push them into the right layout before the public arrive. Where will you cho-choo-choose to put your track pieces? Can you put them together correctly without going loco yourself?
1. How many times can I retry a level?
As many as it takes to complete it! You will get a bonus multiplier if you complete the level in one attempt, however. Score-fiends will want to achieve these perfect rounds.
2. How do I move the red blocks?
You can't. Red blocks are immovable, as they represent the walls of the exhibition hall. You can only move the railway pieces - just try not to get them stuck in corners!
3. What happens if I push a track on to a conveyor belt?
The track will be moved in the direction the the arrow on the conveyor belt is facing.
4. What are the minimum specifications for this game?
The minimum specifications we recommend for this game are:
The recommended specifications for getting the most out of this game are:
Below is an explanation of the terms in our technical specifications.
Megahertz (MHz) / Gigahertz (GHz) is a measure of how fast your computer's processor is. This affects how quickly you can run things like games and applications.
Megabytes (MB) are used to measure how much memory your computer has. This affects how quickly your computer runs when using large programs such as games, or when you run a lot of programs at once.
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text:
Or: people are really, really dumb.
This is a post designed entirely to defuse all the bad forum posters elsewhere. It's going to show every single way they're wrong and why they're wrong, and then I'll just put the link in my sig so that I never ever have to respond to them again.
If you don't like that attitude, that's understandable. I'm in a bitter mood right now after reading so much ignorance from other tanks, particularly druid tanks.
Here's the summary, in case you just want to skip ahead: Chill of the Throne is the least harmful to druids. It is a relative decrease to damage taken compared to other tanks. It also will likely make effective health more valuable, which only favors druids even more. In short, druids will be in a better position relative to other tanks than they were before this, and are in all likelihood the best overall tank in generic terms for any given encounter.
What is Icewell Radiance?
Icewell Radiance is the name a forum poster called "Chill of the Throne" - which is the real name. What's that? That's this:
For Icecrown Citadel, we are implementing a spell that will affect every enemy creature in the raid. The spell, called Chill of the Throne, will allow creatures to ignore 20% of the dodge chance of their melee targets. So if a raid's main tank had 30% dodge normally, in Icecrown Citadel they will effectively have 10%.So what does this mean? It's an effect on each mob, which means the -20% happens after all diminishing returns have been calculated. It affects everyone equally; every player loses 20% dodge, just like if you were facing someone with expertise that only worked against dodge.
Why are we doing this?
The high levels of tank avoidance players have obtained is making the incoming damage a tank DOES take more "spiky" than is healthy for raiding. Ideally, tanks would be receiving a relatively constant stream of damage over time. This allows healers to better plan their healing strategy, broaden their spell options, and simply give more time to react. Tanks could use their cooldowns more reactively. Instead, the current situation is that if we make a hard hitting melee boss and a tank doesn't avoid two successive swings then the tank could very well be dead in that 1-2 second window. The use of reactive defensive abilities instead becomes a methodically planned affair, healers have to spam their largest heals just in case the huge damage spike happens.
We've been trying to do a fair amount to mitigate the effect of high tank avoidance on the encounter side of things during this expansion with faster melee swings, additional melee strikes, dual wielding, narrowing the normal variance of melee swing damage, and various other tricks. There's a limit to what we can do, however. So to give us a bit of breathing room we've implemented Chill of the Throne. Going forward past Icecrown Citadel, we have plans to keep tank avoidance from growing so high again.
We'll have this on the PTR soon so players can see the effects inside Icecrown Raid.
Druid win #1: relative damage taken
Let's take a paladin and a druid for comparison's sake. These numbers are basically made up, but that won't matter (as you'll see) because they illustrate a trend. And they're fairly close to accurate anyway.
The paladin has a total of 60% avoidance. They have 10% damage reduction in general, and 62% reduction from armor.
The druid has only 51% avoidance. They have 12% damage reduction total, and 66% reduction from armor.
In terms of total damage taken over time, the paladin in this example is winning. What's their total damage taken over time? It's damage in*armor reduction*talent reduction*avoidance.
So damage = 1*(1-.62)*(1-.10)*(1-.60) = .1368. In other words, for every point of avoidable damage that comes in, they take .1368 damage out.
The druid has 1*(1-.66)*(1-.12)*(1-.51) = .1466. For every point of damage in that's avoidable, they take on average .1466 out.
That's what's the case now - a paladin has an advantage in overall damage over time. Probably more than that, honestly. But again - doesn't matter. In that case, the paladin takes 93.3% of the damage a druid does in this example.
Let's now reduce the avoidance by 20% and see what happens to the numbers:
Paladin: 1*(1-.62)*(1-.10)*(1-.40) = .2054.
Druid: 1*(1-.66)*(1-.12)*(1-.31) = .2064
They're almost identical. Not quite, but significantly closer. The paladin now takes 99.4% of the damage that a druid does.
So relatively, a druid is taking less damage than they were before compared to other tanks. This is going to hold true for all other tanks unless you were a very rare kind of druid that stacked avoidance. In some cases it'll be more pronounced than others (particularly against DKs who had high avoidance values, druids will be even more ahead) but the general trend is true: if you have less avoidance than the other tanks and everyone gets reduced the same flat amount, the tank with less avoidance will be more improved.
Druid win #2: less damage per swing
The main reason that they've done this big change is so that they can do less damage per swing while maintaining the same incoming damage per second to the tanks. So let's go through this math too.
Let's say that they wanted to have each tank take X damage per second after mitigation and debuffs and whatnot. In order to do this with avoidance being 60%, this means the incoming hits had to be X/(1-.6) , or 2.5X. If you were supposed to be taking 10k damage a second from avoidable attacks, the attacks needed to be 25000 damage/second big - which meant that you had to basically have 50k health to survive two hits in a row. That's pretty close to what things do in ToC now and what the thresholds are.
But now? The same X damage with 40% avoidance means the damage per second only needs to be 1.67x. Now, you can take 3 hits in a row with that 50k health, but it's more likely you'll be hit.
So everything's the same, right? Well...not exactly. The thing is that if things hit for 25k each, no tank can take 3 hits in a row. That's 75k. That's nuts. But reduce how much damage each hit is, and suddenly druids start having advantages due to their higher health potential. As I showed earlier, druids already have huge health leads over other tanks. 10k health. But 10k health doesn't matter when everyone dies in 3 hits.
10k matters a lot more when that means a druid can die in 4 while other tanks die in 3. Again, using those numbers from above - the best geared warrior has 59k health abouts. The best geared druid has 69k. That would directly mean a druid would be able to take one more hit that wasn't avoided without a single heal.
That's a big deal.
Especially when they have less of a reason to even care about avoidance and want to go for armor and stamina above all else. Which brings me to #3.
Druid win #3: not caring as much about avoidance
The idea behind diminishing returns on avoidance is the same as the one behind armor - while the absolute value per point of avoidance goes down as you get more of it, the relative value stays the same.
So for example: if I avoid 50% of attacks, getting another 1% avoidance reduces my relative damage by 2% - instead of taking 50 attacks every 100, I take 49, and (50-49)/50 = 2%.
But let's take 20% dodge off there. Now, that same 1% avoidance - which remember, costs the same as it did before - now makes me go from 30 to 31%. Which means that instead of taking 70 hits, I take 69. That's only a 1.4% improvement in incoming damage taken - or about a loss of 40% effectiveness.
So this makes avoidance about 30-40% less valuable than it was before. Think about that in terms of the gearing too.
Druid win #4: druids still rock with stamina
Note that all the above applies to every tank. They're all not liking avoidance as much as they did before. They're all thinking they can get more hits without dying. They're all thinking that avoidance isn't the way to go. They're all going for even more stamina than they were before - if possible.
But druids win here, again. Druids get 16 points of health per every 1 point of stamina. No other tank gets close to this - only blood tanks vaguely get close to druid levels of health, and only paladins get close to this level of scaling (and they're about 14 per stamina point). Druids have continually gained more health per tier than any other tank. This trend isn't going to cease. So in the world where avoidance is blind, the stamina/armor tank is king.
So to speak.
Druid win #5: magic damage too!
So avoidance is worse, druids are better relative to other tanks, and they want more stamina. Traditionally one way to balance high avoidance values was via magical or unavoidable damage. But guess what - stamina aids that too.
And if that weren't enough, druids can fairly easily keep high levels of health while using resistance gear, as has been shown with some success a couple times in the past. So that means that even if they decide to throw stupid amounts of magic damage around, the best tank to deal with magic damage most of the time is...a druid.
So this is all awesome, right? What could go wrong?
Well, druids do lose some effectiveness of savage defense; it won't be up nearly as often with less avoidance. However, other tanks lose a similar amount of damage reduction this way (save DKs) so that's kinda a wash.
If there are fights like Anub'arak that favor shield tanks due to incredible amounts of quick attacks, they'll still favor block tanks. Similarly, fights that favored avoidance before will favor avoidance now, though not to the degree they did.
And as has been shown repeatedly in WotLK, one of the biggest things is cooldown use - and druids still have less oomph with their cooldowns than other tanks.
Note that I don't think that this will mean druids will be able to be so awesome that they'll allow taking fewer healers or taking fewer tanks because of their awesomeness. Maybe. If there's a fight like I described where a druid can take one more hit before dying than other tanks, this may be feasible; healers who can cast efficient, big heals are going to love druids. But it certainly means that if there are EH benchmarks that tanks must hit before moving on, druids are almost certainly going to be the first ones there.
Honestly? I suspect that we'll see a nerf to druids early on in Icecrown. Maybe even sooner.
But until that nerf happens? Druids rock, baby, and this nerf is secretly a druid plot to rule Icecrown.


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I've already talked enough about our weekend trip to Homer but I didn't mention one odd occurrence. On Sunday we decided to attend church at the local congregation--really get to know the locals and all that--and before church a 30-ish guy with a goatee and a noticeable lack of cowboys boots (it is a rural community so he stood out as rather citified) introduced himself and made small talk. He was friendly, trying to welcome our family and we were generally impressed.
After the services we were grabbing kids and stuffing them into coats when this same friendly guy approaches my husband. I'm listening from a distance as the man renews the conversation.
. . . "Well next time you're in town give me a call and I'll set you up with a place and hook you up with whatever you want to do--fishing, charters--here let me give you my number."
Andrew and I aren't always perfectly nice but we try, I read Miss Manners occasionally and am a firm believer in maintaining civility under any condition--just because someone's rude to me doesn't give me an excuse to snip back, etc. etc. blah blah blah. Also I'm not someone who feels comfortable imposing on people. If I'm on vacation I'd much rather stay in my own hotel than bunking out at a relative's house--not just for comfort's sake, but also because I dread being in their way or being an inconvenient house guest.
But I'm not swift on my feet in those situations and where some people would graciously say, "So very kind of you but we couldn't possibly, four children you know, but you're the greatest human on the planet just for thinking of us--" I freeze up and don't know what to say until five minutes later.
So . . . Andrew, caught in an surreal situation and just wanting to get on the road for the trip home comes up with the never-fail gem, "Uh, thanks, but I don't have a pen."
"Oh no problem, here's my number--" our new friend says as he pulls out a piece of paper and a pen and jots his name and number down for Andrew then hands it to him.
Andrew is about to escape (I'm still listening incognito in the background and wrestling with coats) when the man continues, "So where do you live?"
"Huh? Oh, south Anchorage--"
"Well what's your number and address?" as he pulls out another piece of paper, "This works both ways, you know, whenever we're in town can we stay with you? You got an extra room?"
Thank goodness Andrew was together enough to say (still trying to be nice), "Not really, we're pretty packed." And we are, a three bedroom house with four kids? But that didn't stop the guy from continuing.
"Well, what's your phone number and name?"
Never mind the fact that it's strange to ask to stay at someone's house before you even know their name, Andrew, never having been in such a spot before was tempted to pull out the Fake Phone Number (a la Seinfeld) but froze and couldn't bring himself to lie--he was in a church don't forget--and couldn't think of anything to say other than to give this man the requested information.
I wanted to do the slo-mo throwing-myself-in-front-of-the-bullet move but as I already mentioned I don't think well under social pressure and stood there speechless. I finished with the kids and we were soon on the road where Andrew repeatedly banged his head on the steering wheel for giving out our number.
If the guy is gutsy enough to ask to stay at a complete stranger's house he's gutsy enough to call us for a room. I'm all for feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, housing the homeless--Hurricane Katrina victims out there? Come on over!--but I'm not about to let a complete stranger into my house for the night, especially one who's obviously marching to a different social drummer than the rest of us, just because he doesn't want to pay for a hotel when he comes into town.
Twenty bucks says we get a call. So what would you have done? Once in the car I realized that I should have said, "Hey, that's great, just be sure and give us a call before you come up because we'll want to make sure we get the exterminator over to clean things up before you arrive."
I know if he calls I'll have enough backbone to nicely let him know that we're not Holiday Inn. Give me enough warning and a chance to think about it and I can say "No" politely but this is where caller I.D. would definitely come in handy. I wonder if we should just change our phone number? Oh, and any of you out there are in need of a place to stay on your next Alaskan vacation, here's our number: (907) 248-8848.
Technorati tags: Homer, Alaska, travel,
Monday, October 16, 2006
Awkward Situation #413
I've already talked enough about our weekend trip to Homer but I didn't mention one odd occurrence. On Sunday we decided to attend church at the local congregation--really get to know the locals and all that--and before church a 30-ish guy with a goatee and a noticeable lack of cowboys boots (it is a rural community so he stood out as rather citified) introduced himself and made small talk. He was friendly, trying to welcome our family and we were generally impressed.
Email this post Labels: family life
38 comments:
- Annie said...
What a riot!! 'Course that's only because it didn't happen to ME! And I'm guessing that isn't really your home phone number...??
What ARE we human beings like that in situations that are so uncomfortable? I think it's partly because we are not listenning to our inner-voice of reason. We tend to not want to 'offend' anyone. Your poor husband...Bet he'll react better if that ever happens again! :-) I'm betting the guy never calls.
- Bec of the Ladies Lounge said...
Me? Fake number. Regardless of churchly situation. Done it before, would do it again. Tip: even if you're lulled into starting to give the real thing, most phone numbers are given with a pause somewhere in the middle and THAT is when you can slip in the wrong 'un.
Think of it as doing a kindness - mostly to you, of course, but also a little to the moron who thinks it's ok to shift into the home of someone they've known for less time than it takes to bake cookies!
(Can't take the $20 bet - I reckon he will call one day!)
- Anonymous said...
Now I know who to call when I'm in Alaska! Woohoo! :p
- cheated are the clouds said...
This is way to funny, what a predeiciment to be in, I would have given the local homeless shelter number, hey it's a fine hair to split , your not really lying, it is a good number, and maybe he would be more comfortable there, I'm sure he would never come to your home town again, this is good
- Jenny said...
I would totally have lied and said we didn't have a phone. Actually I would have said that no one in Alaska has a phone. Too cold.
I'm sure he would have bought that one.
- Susan said...
I'm not sure what I would have done. Probably the whole 867-5309 type thing. (You know...the song..) I freeze up in those types of situations as well!
I don't think he'll ever call though. If he does, you'll have to tell us!
- Anonymous said...
It never ceases to amaze me what some people will say. And I would have just stood there, dumbfounded.
But I'm totally calling you if I ever get to Alaska. ;)
- Leslie said...
Wow, that is an awkward situation. I'm not sure what I would have done.
Oh, and this: "I wanted to do the slo-mo throwing-myself-in-front-of-the-bullet move.." So funny! Love your blog.
- Sudiegirl said...
Oh. My. God.
That's terrible manners on the traveler's part. Really.
You really did the right thing by easing yourselves out of that situtation. He could've been an axe murderer for all we know.
Great looking blog, BTW...I'm on Blogger Chicks just like you, so that's where I learned about you and this Alaska blog.
BTW, what's a scribbit?
- Blondie said...
Yowza--that is horrifying. But I live in Chicago, where complete strangers often ask me for money, cigarettes, booze, directions, bus fare, a ride, my first born, etc. I've got enough bitch in me because of this to say, "I don't give out my personal information to strangers." If I was still living in Iowa, however, the guy probably would have moved in by now... :)
- ali said...
i have serious issues saying no. to anyone. and i'm so not quick enough to give a phony phone number.
so, i hear ya!
- Prahagirl said...
I would have given him this number 248-262-6861...I blogged about it in march of 05. I find it hilarious!
And then, when he has waited the appropriate number of days, he calls and gets a recorded message that begins ..."Hello. This is not the person you were trying to call. You've reached the Rejection Hotline ... the person who gave you this number did not want you to have their real number."The message goes on to ponder the possible reasons you were rejected, and then encourages you to "please take the hint" and "get over it."
- gail said...
So funny, I don't think quick enough either to know what to do. But I would have been tempted to give a different number!
- HeatherJ said...
Those are the kind of guys that always used to try and pick on me. I was always nice but I did give fake numbers or some lame excuse as to why I wouldn't tell them where I lived. I sometimes wonder if these people have mothers, and if so what have they been teaching them?
- Anonymous said...
That is totally messed up. I don't know what I would have done in that situation. I'd like to think that I'd come up with some really good reason why I couldn't give out the number but he would probably have it and be waiting on my doorstop when I return.
And you are correct on being full. We just upgraded to the three bedroom and we only have three kids. Before that all three kids shared a small bedroom. We always offered friends to stay with us but no one wanted to.
- Jane said...
Some people have a lot of nerve. We actually had a lady assume she was invited to my son/DIL wedding party at our house! She was told that was not the case, since she did not receive an invitation.
Our son married a Venezuelan girl. Where is your sister's husband from? It's a small world, isn't it?
BTW....I called your number and you didn't answer...what's up with that???
- FRIDAY'S CHILD said...
I can understand how Andrew felt that day. He was sorry for what he has just done but couldnt do anything. He was caught up in a corner. I would feel the same way too about the stranger.
Thanks for sharing.
- mothergoosemouse said...
I have no idea whether I'd have been together enough to tell the truth - as politely as possible - and not give/accept contact info. I think you handled it as best you could, given the circumstances.
- J said...
It's so hard to be polite when someone is so clearly overstepping their boundaries...if only becomes the mantra of the day....if only I had started by saying, 'thank you so much for the invitation, but we prefer to stay in a hotel', or something like that. Of course, I've smashed my head into the steering wheel in self disgust far too many times to pretend superiority.
Alaska is special, too, because (at least when I lived there) it was so many small towns, and everyone kinda did pretend like they knew each other...
- Anonymous said...
I'm like you... I would have been totally caught off guard, and been in utter shock.
I too think of clever things to say... AFTER THE FACT!
- girlymama said...
there's friendly and then there's wierd.
that was wierd.
- Susan said...
omg Michelle - that's totally me - I bet you're right about his calling... also I can relate to its being easier to think of a polite out on the phone with a bit of warning than there in the church. people are so wacky! (people who feel weird when backed against a wall as well as those who have -um- less-finely-tuned social antennae than us, nyernt nyernt :) of course when/if he calls you'll have to fill us all in!
- kailani said...
I don't think I'd have the guts to flat out say NO! He may be psycho! I would have just given him a fake name and number. Not nice, I know.
- nonlineargirl said...
That is really pushy. It is so hard to stand up in a situation like that. It would make me not want to go back to Homer.
- Anonymous said...
That is hilarious with a capital H!!!
I can totally sympathize, as this stuff has happened to us FAR too many times. A few months ago, my husband had to call the local Mormon church because I couldn't bring myself to tell them I didn't want a home visit (I agreed to meet the missionaries the following Tuesday).
I thought it was just a "Minnesota" nice thing...are you sure you're not from here?
- Waya said...
That was awkward alright! This reminds me of 9 years ago on a flight to Maui for our honeymoon, my hubbie struck up a conversation with this guy and he said "call me if you want a tour of the island" blah blah blah. I told my hubbie that he could be a weirdo or something. Last day of our stay, I read about him in the local paper...apparently, he's a big developer on the island. So, guess what we did? We called him of course and had dinner with him and his wife. Really nice guy.
So, this guy might turn out to be some wealthy man who has no family of his own and wants to adopt you and your family?! Just thinking.
- Haley-O said...
Ooo...I'm supposed to go to Alaska next summer. Hmmm...
- J Fife said...
These types of situations break me. By the end of the conversation, I would have probably agreed to a Kato Kaelin situation. (Note to self: grow a backbone.)
- Anonymous said...
Not sure what I would do in that situation, but if he does call, I would play dumb. If it's a voice you don't recognize, say there is no one there by that name.
Wrong number. Sorry, dude.
Still a very strange situation that happened to your family.
- Christine said...
OMG! How very strange. I'm not sure what I would have done. That would definitely throw me off guard.
- Mommy off the Record said...
That is so weird that he would be that forward! I would do what you're suggesting and if he calls, just politely tell him that you don't have room. Maybe you can come up with an excuse like you already have friends staying with you that weekend or something. It would be a lie, but at least you wouldn't be in Church.
- Betty said...
What I find scary in this experience is that your husband didn't protect his family! That sounds harsh, but it's exactly what he did. He gave out personal information to a total stranger simply because he didn't know how to say no. That is the scary part to me.
- mom2werogers said...
Oh I do the same freezing up too in those situations! I'm normally NOT at a loss for words, but in those times, I'm just a staring idiot. What a rude jerk that new friend was. How bizarre. How bizarre.
- suki said...
I would've thanked him for the offer, taken the # and name, and would never have called back even if visiting... If I was to run into him again and if he asked why I hadn't called, then I'd have mentioned having everyone with me, inconvenience, etc. etc.
As for the reciprocity, I would've told him about there not being a spare room, BUT to give a call if he was in town to go have lunch or something random...
WEIRD though.
- Colleen Gleason said...
Oh geez!
I'd have done a fake number too. My husband isn't as quick in social situations as I am, so I would have butted right in and given the guy a look and said...oh, well, maybe I wouldn't have been able to think of something to say in the face of such presumption.
I'm totally with you.
But the fake number thing would have been good.
Good luck. Let us know when you get the call!
- Erin said...
That is completely bizarre. Here's hoping he loses that number. Sometimes I accidentally give the wrong number to people I *want* to call me (I have a hard time remembering my own cell number), so giving a fake number would have been no problem. At the cash register? When they ask for my phone number or zip code? It's second nature to me to just make one up. I'm completely dishonest that way.
- Ballpoint Wren said...
Your hubby is too nice—I used to be like that. Now I just lie and give out fake numbers! (Heh! I looked up the number you gave out--you need to memorize it for the next time!)
I recommend screening all phone calls from now on!
- Melissa said...
You know he's going to call. Change your number now! Of course, then next time you go vacationing, he'll ask why he couldn't get through to you, but still. Change the number!


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Speaking of, a few people have asked me when my book is coming out. It's scheduled to be released Mother's Day, 2009. I think Mother's Day is the perfect time for my book to come out, don't you? Plus, it was originally going to be released as a hard cover, but the publishers are now thinking they'll release it as a paperback which is good news for us moms who are on budgets! I know the amazing folks at Guideposts are planning some really great, fun things for when it comes out, but I can't tell you any details. Mainly because they haven't told me yet! (I hate secrets!) But I have no doubts it'll be good! :)
And speaking of Guideposts, check out their newly designed website! It's so cool! And right now, there are pictures of Ty Pennington on it! Woo Hoo! Run, go check
I was reading comments like I do most every morning, and I came to one that said something like, "I was laughing so hard that my 13 year old looked at me like I'd grown 10 heads, in that way a 13 year can do....." That's all I read because my hand slipped and I accidentally deleted it. I'm sorry. I just wanted the writer of the comment to know that I hadn't purposely rejected it. And I'm bummed I didn't get to finish reading it!
OK, without further ado, here are the answers to life's pressing questions...
Is is wrong that I feel famous because two (count 'em, TWO!) of my comments/questions made it into this week's SSO?
Probably. But that's ok. :D
Good news! Banana Splits is coming back to the Cartoon Network this fall.Are you humming the theme yet, lol?


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Cheetah Print Bathroom Set | Enev2009 displays the photo Better Homes And Gardens Chevron 15-Piece Bath Set, Teal/brown with 29 Best Of Collection Of Cheetah Print Bathroom Set is from the source i5.walmartimages.com posted on the date February, 2 2018. Because the layout and storage options are very standard, interesting materials and finishes are key for helping any bathroom redesigning project stand out. Ceramic tile comes in a vast variety of colors, habits and styles, and putting in a colourful tile back splash, floor or countertop can help spice up usually dull spaces. Stone and granite are ideal bathtub material choices for folks who hate cleaning, as they require little maintenance and do not have grout to package with. And last but not least, don't neglect the hardware! Cabinet draws, shower heads and faucets at home come in a variety of finishes, which allows you to add possibilities and ends of personality into bathroom designs of all styles. Complete Pics Click Here.
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text:
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Welcome to High School!
I took Austin to an informational meeting at the high school. The HIGH SCHOOL! As in NINTH GRADE! My baby is going to be going to high school! commence hyperventilating
So, I'm sitting there listening to the teachers talk about course selection and test scores and blah blah blah and the whole time I was trying to do math in my head. I KNOW! What was I thinking??? But I was trying to figure out just how old I'll be when Brooklyn starts high school. It's never a good idea to do math. Especially when the answer you come up with is "50 years old"! It could make you gasp out loud in the middle of the presentation when you realize just how old you are. It could make other people turn and stare at you. It could make you laugh nervously because of the awkwardness of everyone staring at you. This is entirely hypothetical, of course.
So I sat there nicely, listening intently to the fine educators speak. "...from here on out, everything counts. Everything you do in high school will go on your permanent record."
I think I let out a very small, almost dainty snort at this point. Did she really just say "permanent record"?
A group of annoyed parents turned around and gave me the evil eye.
"Sorry. Stuffy nose," I said in explanation of my tiny little snort.
They went on to talk about what a great opportunity summer school is. "...studies have indicated that the transition between 8th and 9th grade is the 3rd most traumatic thing you'll go through behind losing your parents or losing a spouse. If you want your child to be prepared for 9th grade, you really need to consider sending them to summer school..."
"Give me a break!" I said in my head. At least I'm pretty sure I just said it in my head. Although, come to think of it, some people may have turned around and scowled at me again...
Yeah, that's what you want to do - use lots of words like "traumatic" when talking to the kids about starting high school. And summer school? Now, I have nothing against summer school and for students who are lagging behind, I think summer school could help them get caught up. However, it's summer! Who wants to go to school in the summer? You know, a lot of real life skills can be learned during the summer while on vacation, camping with family, helping around your home, caring for siblings, etc.
Anyway, I got the results of the 4 hour placement test he took in November. According to his scores, it looks like he'll be in ALL honors/AP classes. I'm really proud of him. Actually, proud isn't quite the right word. I'm happy and thankful that he's gifted academically. I'll be proud if he does his work next year, gets decent grades, and doesn't blow off his homework and do projects the night before they're due. I think he's going to be in for a shock with the volume of homework that will come with several honors classes.
He now has a couple weeks to decide what electives he'd like to take. And, not too much pressure or anything, but these classes will affect your FOUR YEAR PLAN, your plans for beyond high school, your future career, the car you purchase, the home you buy, spouse, and family. One wrong choice and you'll be destined to spend your life living in a cardboard box, and saying things like, "You want fries with that?"
Welcome to high school!
Posted by Dawn at 9:22 PM
65 comments:
- Kristin and Co. said...
When my daughter transitioned to public middle school, the counselor asked if she thought she might be interested in band. Because if you thought you might want to be in band in the 8th grade, you HAD to sign up in 6th grade. Your entire pottential band future rested in your pre-6th grade decision of whether or not to take band as an elective. And let's face it, if you don't do band in junior high, you will not be gifted enough to do it in high school.
She didn't take band. And we still joke about it 4 years later.
- January 22, 2009 at 10:19 PM
- Angie [A Whole Lot of Nothing] said...
That 'Permanent Record' jazz makes me scared thinking my Twitter account may be read at the pearly gates. *shudder*
- January 22, 2009 at 10:20 PM
- Stephanie said...
Way to go Austin!!!
- January 22, 2009 at 10:22 PM
Ok, I was feeling this way about kindergarten round-up, I can't imagine what high school must feel like.
- January 22, 2009 at 10:22 PM
I'm an educator - high school even - and I would have snorted right along with you! Give me a break! Summer school for all? When will we remember that our kids need time to be kids. They need time to learn how to be part of a functioning family (or "dysfunctioning" in our case:) so they can have one of their own someday. I know that some kids don't have that at home so they could greatly benefit from summer school - they would at least get fed a real meal and hopefully feel welcomed and appreciated. But it certainly isn't for all. Hang in there Dawn. 4 years will fly by - I know, my first graduates this May. YIKES!!! However, like you I will be, um, well (a lot) older than I am now when the last one graduates. Thank you God for Clairol!!!!
- January 22, 2009 at 10:26 PM
- Tam King said...
I dont know what its like over there but they say much the same thing to us in Australia when we start high school.. they really rave and rant that not only will these be the "best years of your life" (i think i must have missed that part!) but that your entire future depends on what you do for 5 years in high school. PUHLEASE. I dont think i learnt a single usefull thing in school and I TRIED! As long as Austin tries hard, and is respectful of his teachers and peers, he really wont have a concern AT ALL.
- January 22, 2009 at 10:29 PM
- Michelle said...
Oh I have some books for you to read.... I have to go look them up though. I was at a Presidents' Council meeting and they were talking about Stressed Out Kids and some of the things we're finding in our district to try to help them out. Maybe 19 Minutes was one of them? Ugh, I'll think of it at 2am, I know.
Anyway, I wish it were still like when I was growing up and high school was 10th grade and junior high was 7 8 9.
And ummmmm I actually liked summer school.. it was the time (4 weeks only for a few hours a day) when I could take classes and things I was interested in that I couldn't fit in during the school year - theater and writing and photograph (which obviously didn't stick). C'mon Mister Man will be going to Getting Ready For Kindergarten this summer -- don't make me question my decision ;)
- January 22, 2009 at 10:51 PM
- Michelle said...
Oh... and when Little Miss graduates from college? I'll be 50. At least I'd darned well better only be 50. Just sayin' ;)
- January 22, 2009 at 10:51 PM
- Denise said...
Dont worry. They adjust quickly and the years in high school fly by. My oldest is in 11th....already... I swear it feels like he is still in grammar school.
- January 22, 2009 at 10:59 PM
since im not a math person i have to ask how old where you when Austin was born? My oldest will be starting high school next year too and i am only 31!! When my baby starts 9th grade i will be 39. Funny part is this..i dont feel old ..cause im not (thats my story and im sticking to it!) BUT it does stink to feel so young you arent taken seriously! My daughter's boyfriend has a brother who is my age ...so anytime his mom calls me when he is going somewhere with us, i feel like she talks down to me. SO the question is ..would i rather feel young and like a joke ...or old ?? HMM im just not sure!
- January 22, 2009 at 11:09 PM
- Kaitlin said...
Yea, I heard all that too when I started high school. The only thing that really matters is instilling good study habits to be prepared for what really counts, College. I was not successful in doing that. In fact, I should be reading a chapter in my book. Instead I jogged and walked, watched CSI and read your blog!
- January 22, 2009 at 11:22 PM
- Rebecca said...
You know, I'm getting on 8 years out of high school, and I remember them freaking us out about how much would influence our college choices and so on. Now, to be fair, it was a snotty private school, so we were all freaking out about college in 9th grade, but it was really all a bunch of hype.
High school was better than middle school (middle school girls are the cruelest beings one earth), but not by much. Did it REALLY have a huge impact on my life?
I don't know. I think college had a much stronger effect, but that is directly linked to high school. On the other hand, you have to totally blow high school to Timbuktu to not get into a halfway decent school.
For all kids, I think the real issue of high school is exploring their interests more fully. Or, as you put it, real-life skills in summer! While my high school classes enabled me to get to a good college, my summers spent doing theatre camp (I'm an actress) and learning the value of an hourly wage probably taught me a heck of a lot more!
- January 22, 2009 at 11:24 PM
- Nadia said...
lol, only 50 when Brooklyn starts highschool?? my mom will be 51 when her youngest starts Kindergarten next september, along with one in Grade one! as for the the age gap..I graduated 8 years ago :)
- January 22, 2009 at 11:25 PM
Thank God I'm not the only one bewildered by the pressure applied to our youngsters just entering high school. The rhetoric is downright laughable, yet at the same time deplorable. If a parent were to browbeat a kid in that manner it would be construed by most as verbal abuse, yet it is a favorite tool of academia.
I can spout off here because my baby is in his 30's now, but even when my sons were kids I had very mixed feelings about the psychological games that were played on them as they entered their high school years. I'm not minimizing the importance of what lies ahead for them and their need to take it seriously enough to do their part, however many of the skipped classes and late or no homework are the results from being placed under seemingly toturous goals. Too much hammering will shatter stone instead of shaping it.
There has to be a balance, and the parents who giggle and snort in these meetings are the relief valves that keep it all real and in perspective. I recommend taking a cold kit (eyedrops to keep your eyes weepy, a box of kleenex, a thermometer with which you take your temperature at least twice during the meeting, and a bottle of sore throat spray) to the next paren't/teacher's meeting to secure your cover. And let the scowlers scowl. Your kids will thank you later in life, although they may not speak to you at all for awhile. ;)
- January 22, 2009 at 11:33 PM
- MaNiC MoMMy™ said...
Oh boy, totally scaring me now. Is it true though -- did they really say the transition from 8th to 9th grade is the third most traumatic experience for them?
I'M FREAKING OUT! And I still have a few years till high school.
And more importantly, how many drinks and what kind did you have at Cheesecake factory? (You can save this for SSO if you like)
OH, and here's ANOTHER great SSO for you: What's that really cool new ad on the right side of your blog. It's so EYE-CATCHING! WOW! Kind of makes me want to roll up my sleeve and let someone jab my arm with a needle all for the sake of saving someone's life!
BWHAHAHAHAHAHA! If you can't laugh at yourself, laugh at MANIAC! See, I did it again! xoxo
High School?
What does Long Duck Dong say in 16 Candles ...
Not on drugs, really.
- January 22, 2009 at 11:41 PM
- Diagnose Rachel said...
That study must have been funded by the "Summer School Teacher Association" or something. I've had lots of trauma in my life, and the change from 8th to 9th grade was NOT one of them!!!!
I love that you gasped and snorted. Glad to know I'm not the only one who does that. Just the only one in the room, not the world!
- January 22, 2009 at 11:55 PM
Geez, I sure hope Austin knows what he wants his college major to be!
I love how you said you're "happy and thankful that he's gifted academically" and that you'll be PROUD of him if he works hard and lives up to his potential. Very nice distinction.
- January 23, 2009 at 1:15 AM
I just have to tell "Sarah," 4th comment from top, that I laughed out loud at her kindergarten round-up comment!!!
- January 23, 2009 at 1:18 AM
- Mummy McTavish said...
Sounds like Austin will be perfectly well balanced to head into Highschool if he has a mum that can snort and laugh the whole way through the info meeting.
What were his thoughts on the meeting?
- January 23, 2009 at 4:12 AM
My BABY turns 18 in two weeks time, and is talking about moving out of home..
I am beyond startled and ever so slightly depressed.
- January 23, 2009 at 5:11 AM
- Lynda said...
As someone who started her adopted family late in life, my oldest started high school last fall...four months after my 53rd birthday. LOL High school has been a breeze for him. I was hyperventilating all last summer however. They really drive these kids hard when it comes to making life time decisiions. And to think I was doing it in COLLEGE! His freshman class list looked nothing like mine did. Geez.
- January 23, 2009 at 6:01 AM
- Jacque said...
I kinda wish someone would have told me more of that, because when I applied for grad school at the age of 39-- guess what I had to send--my highschool transcript. Luckily it wasn't too traumatizing. My daughter is looking at colleges and I think that may be the most traumatizing moment for me...and my son starts high school this fall too. Where did the time go?
- January 23, 2009 at 6:22 AM
- Andi said...
My oldest graduates from high school in May and I have my 20 yr class reunion in August and I am younger than you! When I am 49, my youngest will graduate from high school and I still have years to live after that. Permanent record? I work in a school district. If permanent record scared the parents so much, they wouldn't let their kids do what they let them do. That's the scary part. Austin is a smart kid and he'll do well. You should be proud. And if he is smart, it usually is genetic so the rest of them should be smart too. The scary part is if they use those brains for good or bad.....Good luck!
- January 23, 2009 at 6:53 AM
- Raechel said...
Oh dear heavens... I still remember the anxiety my high school adviser caused. We practically had to choose our college in 8th grade. What 8th grader knows ANYTHING about real life enough to determine what school is the best choice? Heck, at 13 I didn't even know what tuition was! Much headdesking to be had.
I survived though I think the trauma a kid experiences is not due to the transition (high school, compared to lower grades, was awesome) rather caused by all the speeches and phrases thrown at kids and their parents.
I wish you the best of luck. My daughter is only 2.5 so we have quite some time before we start. Homeschooling looks better and better the more I hear and remember, though ;)
- January 23, 2009 at 7:29 AM
- Martha said...
50 - ha.. I've got you beat. When my daughter starts ninth grade, I will be 53! Kids need time to be kids, and unless there is a need or want, I can't see summer school for all! I'm also the parent that does not make her child do her homework as soon as she is home from school, and won't ground her from playing outside, and don't have her involved in 27 activities. I totally think kids like grown ups need down time!
- January 23, 2009 at 7:36 AM
That permanent record remark reminds me of that Violent Femmes song "Blister in the Sun". Remember that line that they sing, "And this will go down in your permanent record. Oh yeah!?" We played that song so many times in college. Ah. Good times.
- January 23, 2009 at 7:37 AM
It's kind of scary to think that at age 13/14 you're supposed to know what you want to do with the rest of your life. I'm 41 and I STILL don't know!! ;)
Donna in PA :)
- January 23, 2009 at 7:45 AM
I worked in a support position in a top-in-the-state high school for one year. I couldn't stand how cutthroat it was for the students. Summer School filled up the day enrollment was announced and it was literally like the regular school year it was so crowded. The teachers and administrators made the kids feel if they didn't go to summer school they would ruin their lives. The job wasn't a good fit for me because it was way too stepford. I actually heard a counselor tell a student that even though he had all A's and B's that he hadn't started AP and Accelerated classes until Junior year so he should even bother applying to colleges he wanted, he should settle for 2 year Junior college. Heartbreaking. So much for best-in-the-state school.
- January 23, 2009 at 8:02 AM
- Erin T. said...
LOL! My oldest is also going into 9th grade next fall, and yesterday was their orientation as well. Your experience is EXACTLY why we didn't attend. I figure, why freak her out when she's already freaked out enough? We'll wait for her schedule and then attend the walk through before school starts and she can find her exact classes, etc. I'm glad to see that you have a sense of humor about it! (For the record, I'd have been snorting as well!)
And congrats to Austin as well!
- January 23, 2009 at 8:13 AM
Just watch all the AP/Honor classes - they really demand a lot of kids and kids can very easily become very overwhelmed with all the expectations put upon them.
- January 23, 2009 at 8:39 AM
- A Mom in Jacksonville, FL said...
As a mother I am SOOOO with you! Summers are for family time and "chill time" for kids to hang out with no homework or major school expectations.
As an 8th grade teacher, I'm wondering----who WANTS to promote summer school for ALL? Summer is MY time to rejuvinate. To have family time. To read professoinal literature that I don't have time to tread through during the school year.
The trend in Florida has been to place much emphaisis on a 4-year plan for students when they enter high school. However, I haven't heard anything about it being the 3rd most traumatic time in their lives? More truamatic than job hunting? More traumatic than dating and meeting a spouse. YIKES!
- January 23, 2009 at 8:46 AM
I remember the dreaded 4-year plan.
I also remember all the high school hype and the pressure to make *huge* life decisions when you're 14.
And you know what else I remember, now that it's *actually happening*? High school matters not one whit in how far you go in life!
If only I could've gone back and told that to my 14-year-old self.
...while I'm at it, I also would've told her to not let that senior grope her in the movie theater parking lot. Oh, and to not wear skirts that were so gosh-dang short! And to practice the violin more.
- January 23, 2009 at 9:03 AM
- Lush Laundry said...
I've never posted a comment on anyone's blog, but this post made me laugh (not that many of your other posts haven't). Your post really brought me back to high school (I've only been out for 10 years, so it wasn't that long ago). Going to an all girls Catholic high school in the Southside Suburbs of Chicago, I heard all of that and even more.
I had to laugh when you posted "third most traumatic experience." Are they nuts? I would say that maybe that would hold true if a person amounted to absolutely nothing in their life (honestly, does that even happen to anyone?). As someone is recently graduated from law school and is now anxiously studying for the Illinois Bar Exam I can say with experience that there are about a million more things that can fill that spot as "third most traumatic life experience" and I'm only 28! I'm sure I'm going to encounter alot more in the coming years! Good luck to Austin and all of those unfortunate kids embarking on the foolishness of high school!!!
- January 23, 2009 at 9:09 AM
We were just figuring out the college thing yesterday for my son and we calculated that we'll be 57 or 58 when he starts college. Wow! How did that happen? We determined we'd be best served to sock his college money away in an IRA and then we could just pull it out penalty free since we'll be retirement age anyway. Sad, sad, sad.
- January 23, 2009 at 9:14 AM
- Randee said...
So, I found out recently that your "permanent record" is really that PERMANENT. I have been out of school for almost (cough) 20 years...recently I needed (for various jobs or enrolling to take further education classes) my ACT score and my immunization records. know where I found them??? My PERMANENT RECORD! OY VEY!
- January 23, 2009 at 9:18 AM
My oldest went to high school this year. We got that same lecture last spring as you got, minus the part about summer school. And he's taking the honors classes as well. And German! Go figure. :) If he stays on track, he'll graduate high school with 15 college credits already. Get ready though - with high school came my son's first girlfriend. I surely wasn't ready for that, but have adjusted to it mostly (they've been together for almost 3 months now). She's a sweet girl and a straight-A student who's in the marching band with him, so similar interests and makes him do his homework LOL. Enjoy the experience, and don't freak out so much that it's high school. BTW, my youngest is in kindergarten, so I'll be 57 when she goes to high school.
- January 23, 2009 at 9:20 AM
I've been concerned about helping with math too. But remember, there are SO many resources out there for kids these days!
- January 23, 2009 at 9:23 AM
- Lucrecia said...
My oldest graduates next year. That is a whole other level of stress!
And seriously, the stress of going to high school is that big of a deal? Really?? I'd think, I don't know - picking a college major when you are still a child, or trying to find your first job, or having a child.... THOSE things might be stressful, but highschool?
- January 23, 2009 at 9:41 AM
- Meagan said...
My husband is in law school and when he went to get his permanent record from his high school they pretty much laughed at him and told him they only kept the records for 5 years.
- January 23, 2009 at 10:08 AM
I think summer school for kids who really don't NEED it is the school's answer to all the tutoring places out there advertising that children need tutors and they guarentee a full letter grade improvement in any student's grades. What happens when you send an A student there (and I know people who do)? Lets face it not every student is an A student and not every student needs to be or should be an A student. At least if it's through the public schools you are sure that the teachers are certified and/or have some background in the subject they are teaching.
I support summer school for courses of interest that the student doesn't have time for during the year and really wants to take (they shouldn't never be forced into it however). When I was a child I asked to take a summer reading class offered for advanced readers by the school and had the best time. Every child was there by choice so we were all actively engaged in the course. I also begged to take the summer science course but my parents wouldn't let me "because science was for boys." They were wrong, I'm the physist and my brothers aren't.
BTW, don't sweat the age thing. I know marketing companies tell us that aging is just not the "in thing" and that we must all strive to stay young, thin, and pretty forever. We don't, aging is a fact of life. Having a birthday and getting a year older beats the alternative. Think about it, I'm sure the alternative will come to you and you'll see getting older isn't a bad thing at all.
- January 23, 2009 at 10:10 AM
- Chas said...
Oh good grief- they're still trying to scare the kids with the whole "permanent record" crap? And your son WON'T be attending summer school? I guess he can go ahead now and resign himself to driving a (*gasp*) station wagon for his entire adult life! And then, however will he hold his head up proudly?
- January 23, 2009 at 10:26 AM
My daughter is a junior in high school now and I can't believe the head games they play with her. She is very bright and wants to achieve, but some teachers can't be bothered to teach, much less show up, and then they're putting all this pressure on the kids to learn it themselves. OK for my daughter, who can do it, but what about the kids who can't? Or worse yet, won't( that would be my oldest daughter)?
I don't remember high school being this difficult.
- January 23, 2009 at 11:01 AM
- Julie Sturgeon said...
"the transition between 8th and 9th grade is the 3rd most traumatic thing you'll go through behind losing your parents or losing a spouse."
These people seriously need to get a life. They've obviously tried to get through their wedding day when the in-laws hate your guts, or lost a job or fought in Iraq or sat in courtroom while their chid was sentenced to life without parole for cutting his girlfriend's head off ...
- January 23, 2009 at 11:12 AM
- Juneau Poole Party said...
Oh my gosh! My baby will be going to high school next year too! The kids in our town are allowed to chose which high school they will be going to next year (of course with parental guidance!) - so they are touring one of those schools today.
- January 23, 2009 at 11:23 AM
- Hillary said...
wow. when I started high school 15 years ago, there were only a couple choices.
(a) are you in band or not?
(b) did you start algebra a year early or not?
except for math and the electives (languages, music, art, shop, and ag) everyone took the same classes for ninth and tenth grade, and we split at eleventh into going to college/not going to college. in retrospect they must have been thinking about who would go to college to get those kids into the language classes, but I didn't notice it at the time.
- January 23, 2009 at 11:25 AM
- Kim VanDerhoek said...
You know, math IS a four letter word...
- January 23, 2009 at 12:17 PM
I have to agree summer school for all is a bit silly. I'm with you -real life experiences is where we get the skills we really need for well - real life.
- January 23, 2009 at 12:35 PM
As someone who was recently in high school (I'm 22), I can honestly say that the classes you chose have nothing to do with what you'll wind up being when you grow up, nor will you remember much of it the second after you're handed your diploma.
At my school we actually had a mandatory class in 9th grade called "Pathways". This class was all aptitude tests and the teacher forcing you to decide what you were going to do for the rest of your life at the age of 14. Seriously? At 14 you've only really been conscious of life after school for a couple of years, how can you possibly decide what you want to be?
At 22, I still have not gone to college because I have no idea what I want to be, despite an entire quarter of career planning crap. *major eye roll*
Let Austin pick whatever classes sound fun, might as well have 4 years of fun before he gets kicked out into the real world. My senior year I took 3 languages, a couple art classes, some cooking classes. I just had fun with it.
Oh, and in case you're wondering, I was told I should be a marine biologist. I'm scared to death of drowning and deep water... great career choice, right?
- January 23, 2009 at 12:42 PM
So many comments!! Do you have time to read them all?
My 2 cents worth: I'll be fifty when my youngest starts kindergarten this fall. *sigh*
And I'm all for the summer school for the kiddos... yep, kick em all out of the house year round. Hey, why not let the educators rear them? Then we can all have babies, send them off to school, and visit when we have time! Wouldn't that be nice?
JK--You know me, I wouldn't have "had eleven in my forties" had I not felt parents andfamily are the best thing to happen to kids, especially when there is both a mom and a dad! I even throw in the idea of the more siblings, the better! :P
I hope he enjoys his summer break!
- January 23, 2009 at 1:13 PM
Watch out for the AP classes!
Let him pick his best subjects, but don't let him take all of the AP classes that are offered. It really is too much for any kid. They will start to hurt his permanant record and it really isn't worth it.
If you want him to be happy in High School and if you want to enjoy having him around for the next four years....just be careful!
- January 23, 2009 at 2:19 PM
I can tell you, when it comes to foreign languages most high schools have you take 2 years.. what they DONT tell you is that IF you take 3 years in HS, most colleges dont require a foreign language, otherwise, its 4 years of it in college!
of course knowing another language is GREAT, but depending on what he will want to do (yes its SICK they expect them to know as freshmen) he may want to get those out of the way in HS!!!!
Good luck! you arent old, you are "seasoned"!
- January 23, 2009 at 3:36 PM
- Rose said...
HA! I lived in mortal terror of that "permanent record." What a joke. Not that I'm going to tell my kids. Oh, no, not telling them!
- January 23, 2009 at 4:05 PM
- HeidiV said...
Isn't it crazy the amount of pressure put on kids now?
- January 23, 2009 at 4:10 PM
- Julia said...
it's only traumatic if you make it traumatic! heck! I moved four hours from the only home I'd known all my life when I started high school and I don't think I was traumatized. okay, so making friends took a while. but hey, Austin's got a leg up on me. He already knows the kids from his middle school. and they're all in this thing together!
also, good choice on not doing summer school. now THAT is traumatizing!
keep a sense of humor about this whole high school thing. they aren't the BEST years of a teenager's life, but they're not half bad either.
- January 23, 2009 at 5:45 PM
- Brenda said...
Our oldest is a sr in college, #2 a sophmore in college, #3 and 4 are sophmores in high school and #5 is in the 8th grade. High school has been a great exerience for us. Much easier tan the jr high hormone fluctuation thingy! By the way. I'm 52. It feels no different than I did when I was 29 like yourself ; ) I'm shocked when I look in the mirror most of the time and think "How'd that happen?"
- January 23, 2009 at 6:04 PM
I am about to turn 35, and my oldest just got the 9th grade orientation letter.... I almost had a heart attack. I hadn't started feeling old yet, cause we did start our family pretty young.... but boy that letter just gave me a reality check!!
- January 23, 2009 at 6:42 PM
It could be worse than a cardboard box... I mean, one wrong class selection and he could be a motivational speaker who lives in a van down by the river!
- January 23, 2009 at 6:49 PM
- Jerri Ann said...
Summer school? Screw that! I was an all honors AP kid too. They didn't teach driver's ed at my school though and who would have had time to take it anyway with all the other junk I was involved in. But, I took driver's ed in the summer, after I had a license for almost a year..duh, I did it b/c my dad made me b/c it made insurance was cheaper with my good grades and even cheaper with that course under my belt.
Otherwise, summer school, screw that!
- January 23, 2009 at 8:06 PM
- Brian said...
I have a friend who is a teacher and she has taught summer school for the last couple of years. She tells me she gets an extra $3000+ (on top of their salary) for teaching two weeks of summer-school. Granted, these kids are usually pretty rotten and couldn't pass the year on their own. But sometimes I wonder if things like that are for the benefit of students.
I say it's a bunch of "hype." Traumatic? Please... :)
- January 23, 2009 at 10:22 PM
I beat you--I'm 50 already and my youngest is in 7th grade...makes you tired just thinking about it!
- January 23, 2009 at 11:15 PM
- mommeeof9 said...
I'll be 45 when #10 is born in May, Hubby is already 50. Our kids better work their tails off to get good grades and go to college. They can live at home for free until they finish at the community college 12 miles from our house. Then they need to get a real job or figure out how they will pay for the rest off college on their own.
- January 24, 2009 at 2:12 PM
- Kristine said...
Wow - every kid in summer school? Haha - yeah right! Interesting thing is, I think most districts have cut "elective" summer school across the country.
Kids should take high school seriously - they'll be better equipped to live on their own - but that doesn't mean it'll make or break them for life!
I would have been snorting and making comments too!
- January 24, 2009 at 9:15 PM
I'm a lurker on your blog, but I had to comment on this post. It's the whole premise of my book (you and I are represented by the same literary agency)... if adults tell us that high school is something to be survived, like cancer, how do they expect us to do anything more? Here's to your son having an awesome high school experience -- with an awesome mom!
- January 25, 2009 at 6:05 PM
- SuburbanCorrespondent said...
It's crazy, isn't it? One of the main reasons I homeschool...
- January 26, 2009 at 6:48 AM
- kamilah said...
everyone knows AP really stands for advanced procrastination, haha. at least it did at my high school.
- January 28, 2009 at 3:21 AM


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