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To the Editor:
"What matters most in the decades ahead is the extent to which we cultivate creativity, ingenuity, curiosity, innovation, and thinking differently. These qualities have been the genius of American culture. These traits are not measured by standardized tests." – Diane Ravitch, Research Professor of Education at New York University and a historian of education.
I have not written in a while. Parents and teachers and community members, however, continue to stop me in my walking or my running or grocery shopping to tell me how much they have valued my letters, agreed with my views, and hoped that I would write more.
My purpose in writing this and the previous letters is to inform and educate the citizens of the towns in the Old Rochester Regional school district on the current issues in education and to connect that information to our own school district. I write again hoping that with informed views parents, teachers, students, and community members will contact the school committees and administrators and ask questions and air concerns.
With no end to the articles to read, editorials to consider, research analyses to digest – the available material detailing the damage being done to education by the data-driven decision-making – I need to encourage everyone concerned to seek information and question our school committee members and administrators before they do further damage to a once stellar and much admired school district in favor of standardized tests and data, computerized instruction and assessment, and school rankings. The data reported is about schools, not our children. The PARCC tests are coming.
Books, articles, editorials, blogs, professional journals, transcripts of lectures, research reports from university studies: Each day we can all read about changes in teaching practice and curriculum development, stress over test taking among even our youngest students, creativity and individuality overlooked and deemphasized and replaced by teaching-to-the-test instruction and the highlighting of isolated test questions – these factors are all doing damage to our children's educational experience. We all need to remember, as I have said in previous letters, that children go through school only once, and we have the responsibility to offer them the best and most inspiring experience possible. In my view, the notable people not reading and acting on all the current material available on the detriments of standardized testing and the narrowing of curriculum are the administrators and school committees of the Old Rochester District; in particular, the Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment, who seems to focus on data, assessment, and numbers and to neglect instruction and creativity. Rather than recognizing and celebrating the well-respected, high-performing district we have formerly celebrated, the current environment is becoming more and more of a teaching-to-the-test driven one.
Another reason for another letter is my recent experience as a member of the Strategic Plan Forum. I was happy to join the Strategic Plan Committee, because I care about the students and the schools of the Old Rochester Regional District, and I thought I could contribute a credible voice and work with others toward formulating the five-year plan. The whole experience could not have been more of a letdown for me and for others. Many of those with whom I interacted were parents; some were parents new to the district, eager to contribute. Although I had nothing to do with the planning of it, I was embarrassed for my school district as we sat through the most uninspired, unenthusiastic, talk-to-you-from-a PowerPoint presentation. The first forum was the assembly of the entire group in the evening in the high school cafeteria; all constituencies present – parents, teachers, administrators, and community members. Everyone in the room had received a packet with the research done on the district in terms of demographics, enrollment projections, housing markets in the towns, school test scores, etc. My tablemates and I spoke about how we had read the information prior to attending and some of us had highlighted important points. I had read the complete packet twice. The information had been sent to us by Diana Russo, the Superintendent's administrative secretary, who is always organized and prepared – clearly and consistently showing competency way beyond her position and beyond those of our two highest administrators.
Superintendent White with no enthusiasm in his voice introduced the consultants who were hired to facilitate and thanked those present for being there. No time was given for those present to identify themselves and to state which constituency they represented. The Strategic Plan Steering Committee was never introduced, although the existence of such a body was mentioned several times. Because I had recently retired as a teacher in the district, those at my table turned to me to fill them in. I did not know who was who in the room, except for a couple of administrators and teachers. Very poor planning on the part of the facilitators. When I got home, I timed how many seconds it would take to state my name, my town, and my place as a community member. It takes seven seconds. So how long would it have taken for everyone in the room to do the same? Not very long. Also, why not tell everyone who was on the Steering Committee. My tablemates began to feel that it was a real secret.
On to NESDEC, the presenters: The presentation was a projected slide show of all the information sent ahead of time. The NESDEC leader read to us what we had already read. Why were we there? No discussion followed. We had had a "light supper" and left with no new information, dismissed in less time than the two hours allotted.
On the following Saturday, small groups met in the superintendent's conference room for our focus group discussions, again facilitated by NESDEC. We listed strengths and weaknesses for the district that were paraphrased and projected on a screen. Very little time was given for discussion. Our Assistant Superintendent was not even present at my group's assigned time, and our Superintendent seldom looked up. Again, as someone who loves our district and cares about education, I was embarrassed and disappointed. Why our administrators could not have come up with an innovative plan for developing a community form, I don't understand. Why they turned to NESDEC, an antiquated group with no new ideas, I don't know. I will add more on the Strategic Plan experience in another letter, since I need to move on to another topic today.
I have read so much recently about how more and more young students are being diagnosed with ADD, ADHD, anxiety, and autism. That is a fact. We ask, "Why?" A plausible emerging answer is that very young students are being required to sit and do tasks for which they are not ready academically, physically, emotionally, and developmentally. The young students are frustrated, act out, withdraw, recognize failure, lose recess privileges, and further lose self-esteem. Parents and teachers want a reason. They do not often enough see the readiness element; hence testing and a diagnosis and perhaps medication – ah, they see there is a solution. Given a more hands-on, creative, and inspiring learning environment – focused on their abilities and readiness and knowing the connection to successful reading, math, and writing success – most students will thrive and become excited about learning, rather than anxious. Children want to learn. If some students struggle even after appropriate and engaging learning experiences, then some monitoring and testing is, of course, warranted.
As Mrs. Demers, whom many readers may remember as the most enthusiastic, creative, and masterful kindergarten teacher at Rochester Memorial School for many years, often said, "Readiness is everything." Mrs. Demers was a gentle genius, who knew that constructive play and carefully crafted education experiences, not drill and standardized testing preparation, is what young students need to be learners. Mrs. Demers once told me that the throwing and catching a ball that we do with young children is more effective in getting children's brains ready to read than all the practice in letters and sounds that we often do.
In keeping with the same beautiful educational philosophy as that of Mrs. Demers, 121 authors and illustrators of children's books recently published a letter sent to President Obama and Arne Duncan, the Secretary of Education, expressing their concerns over the current overuse of testing and narrowed curriculum.
The letter reads, in part, "Our public school students spend far too much time preparing for reading tests and too little time curling up with books that fire their imaginations." and "This year has seen a growing national wave of protest against testing overuse and abuse. As the authors and illustrators of books for children, we feel a special responsibility to advocate for change. We offer our full support for a national campaign to change the way we assess learning so that schools nurture creativity, exploration, and a love of literature from the first day of school through high school graduation."
You can check out the entire inspiring letter and the list of authors and illustrators who signed by searching for: Public Letter on Standardized Testing from Authors and Illustrators of Books for Children and Youth. The letter is clearly a call for concern and a call to action.
Another source to consider is Hal Salzman, a professor of public policy at Rutgers University, who writes on education and economic policy. I will include only a brief quote from an article. Please check him out, too.
"'What's really peculiar about the whole test-score hysteria is that they use it as a proxy for the U.S. "competitiveness and innovation," as though we don't have actual measurements,' said Salzman, an expert in science and engineering labor markets and the globalization of innovation. 'The country continues to lead on innovation, economic performance, and all the results that these things are supposed to indicate … It doesn't mean we don't want to improve education,' Salzman said. 'But the fear that's driving it is unfounded. The problem we have is not at the top or at the middle. It's at the bottom. That's what gets lost in averages and rankings.'"
I am going to end here. I have more information to share on Pearson (particularly on their new profit-seeking involvement in teacher certification through standardized testing in New York State); on our district's use of Galileo, a computerized assessment program on which our students are spending way too much time; and the coming PARCC tests, the nationwide testing attached to the Common Core that has already been piloted in New York State. In New York, four year-olds in public pre-school have been given standardized multiple-choice tests. Please seek out information on Pearson and also on the New York State districts that are already opting out of Race to the Top and PARCC assessments, because of the many problems with the test. The ORR District is currently headed in the direction of implementing measures that have already shown themselves to be flawed.
More letters to come.
Thank you for reading. Please take advantage of the information available, and please remember that the school committee members are representatives and should hear from their constituents. As always, if you would like to contact me, email me with comments or questions at email@example.com.
Teresa R. Dall
The views expressed in the "Letters to the Editor" column are not necessarily those of The Wanderer, its staff or advertisers. The Wanderer will gladly accept any and all correspondence relating to timely and pertinent issues in the great Marion, Mattapoisett and Rochester area, provided they include the author's name, address and phone number for verification. We cannot publish anonymous, unsigned or unconfirmed submissions. The Wanderer reserves the right to edit, condense and otherwise alter submissions for purposes of clarity and/or spacing considerations. The Wanderer may choose to not run letters that thank businesses, and The Wanderer has the right to edit letters to omit business names. The Wanderer also reserves the right to deny publication of any submitted correspondence.


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As a possible third intifada ramps up in the Holy land, people tend to choose the sides based on who they perceive to be the good guy or bad guy, and unfortunately, many of them make that choice relying solely on the impression given to them by the media without investigating the facts on their own. The sad truth is that many people reach a conclusion simply by scanning headlines and never reading the story, a fact the print media is very much aware of and are quite happy to take full advantage of.
Did I mention that, quite often, the media is biased?
For example, news organizations will frequently run a headline stating that a Palestinian was killed with a clash with the IDF. Of course, these headlines are deliberately written in a way that casts the IDF in a negative light, but what they fail to mention is the fact that the Palestinian was killed because he attacked the Israeli soldiers. Since editors are fully aware that many people will only scan the headline without reading the story, they know that a large percentage of their readers will come away with the intended false impression.
This tactic is used, not only with printed articles but with videos as well. For example, a recent video posted by NBC News with the headline that a Palestinian teen was fatally shot, without indicating the reason for the shooting (he attacked IDF troops). This is done, of course, to leave the false impression that Israel is an evil empire brutally oppressing the noble Palestinians. NBC is not alone in the use of this type of yellow journalism, most of the other major news outlets are guilty as well.
This brand of anti-Semitic propaganda was on full display… Read the rest at ConservativeUnderground
Photo credit HonestReporting

subset: commoncrawl


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|Sighting Report
|Occurred : 12/3/2003 16:45 (Entered as : 12/03/2003 16:45)
Reported: 12/4/2003 2:07:51 PM 14:07
Posted: 12/9/2003
Location: Vernon (Canada), BC
Shape: Light
Duration:20 minutes
|Hi Brian December 3 at 4:45 p.m. the bright white light appeared over the hill south of the airport. The sky was clear after sunset. It hovered and sparkled. A red sphere flashed by going south. My neighbor came out on his balcony for a cigarette. The white light hovered. When he went in it started it's vertical decent. It went down very slowly a bit at a time until it disappeared in the trees, at 500 p.m.
It is difficult to describe the light. In the binoculars it has strobing red and other colours but white is the predominant one. It is white hot like a sparkler and hard to tell size or shape. I find it hard to believe that no one else has reported this as it is predominant in the sw sky and by the airport. It went down just before a jet landed. There is a population density around the airport and surrounding hills, and again I can't be the only one who sees this.
The behavior of the light suggests that some people at a glance would view it as a star or a one spotlight plane on approach. It makes no sudden moves, as it moves in increments. This is a wonder-full event, lasting 20 minutes, from when I start viewing it.
Thank you to the witness for the report.
Brian Vike, Director HBCC UFO Research Canadian Toll Free UFO Hotline 1 866 262 1989 - Free call.
Home - Phone/Fax 1 250 845 2189 HBCC UFO Forum Board http://22.214.171.124/HBCC-UFO/index.php email: email@example.com Website: http://www.hbccufo.com


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It seems like every day we are inundated with some type of new offense in the world. Be it racism, sexism, or something else. Sometimes I find myself on various sides of these "issues". What I am about to write about should just offend us all. Is there an anti- white agenda to Star Wars Episode VII? This concept is so ignorant my head is about to explode. I am going to try and keep this from turning into an expletive filled tirade on the ignorant bigots behind the racist Star Wars hashtag which I refuse to mention. I will not give attention to this backwards thinking troglodytes. Actually allow me to apologize to troglodytes for offending them by comparing them to these ignorant people. How in the hell can you possibly come to the conclusion that Star Wars Ep VII is spreading a anti-white agenda? What kind of whack a do **** stick comes to that conclusion? These dumb ***holes are making me feel ashamed to be a white male. So what if the main characters are not white males. Is the world we live in, and entertainment exclusive to Caucasians? I understand getting up in arms cause Human Torch is African-American in the latest movie, or any well-established character race being change. I get that it's annoying but if the overall story is the same and it changes nothing of the character what does it matter? It doesn't, but labeling a movie as racist propaganda because the lead characters are not white males is just pure ignorance. So every other race of people in Star Wars is acceptable but a black Jedi is not? As an old fan, one who grew up with Star Wars (I was 2 in 77 when the original movie came out), where the hell did these close minded fanboys come from? Do they secretly harbor hatred towards Darth Vader because he was voiced by James Earl Jones? Do they loathe black leader of Cloud City Lando Calrissian? He is the smoothest dude in the galaxy. If you don't hate them why hate the current leads? That's just something I don't understand. I get hating Jar jar, he was ****ing annoying, but this I just don't get. Must be some kind of special ***hole to be able to related to this message. Allow me, on behalf of all white males in the world we all share, to apologize for these ignorant racist ***holes. I'm sorry people like this exist. Hating someone because of their skin color is unacceptable and so is bashing a beloved franchise because the leads are not white males. Get the **** over yourselves and leave our Star Wars alone cause there is no room for you or your racist, sexist views in a galaxy far far away.
Archives for : October2015
In less than 24 hours, ticket scalpers and scumbags looking to prey on us Nerds have decided to show their lack of common sense and post tickets to Star Wars: The Force Awakens on eBay for stupid amounts of cash!
Seriously? I know that people who aren't fanboys don't know that scalping things we love aren't exactly the brightest bunch but c'mon! What's even worse are the " true die-hard fanboys" willing to pay these prices! There have been other sites that have mentioned tickets going into the thousand dollar price range! Geeze!
Were you able to get tickets? Are you planning on seeing it opening night/weekend?
As if this needs any intro….
The Chicagoland area has a very strong toy community and throughout a year, it hosts it's fair share of events with C2E2, Wizard World Chicago and dozens of comic/toy show events all year, but Kane County Toy Show is by far my favorite. We are lucky enough to get it twice a year. The first show is in early April and the second is in October. Something about it being fall season, close to Christmas and good coffee weather that makes this show in October my favorite. If you have not had the pleasure of going, I strongly recomend making the trip. They have multiple buildings with a range of toy collectables spanning from the early 1900's to today. A great place to find a missing piece to a collection or to start a new one from scratch. Anyone who's anyone in the toy community is either selling or buying there and it is a great place to meet with random people with the same interests and talk toys! Bargins can be found and haggling is standard protocol. It's a great place to take the whole family and has something for everyone. So hopefully we will see you there. Happy Hunting!
Well according to Comicbook.com, that rumor has been debunked and put to bed as it was revealed that Fox already had the rights to begin with as well as Marvel Studios and Marvel Television being two separate entities. Another match on the fire was Marvel Studios' announcement of 3 untitled movies hitting in 2020 and one of them possibly being FF. Fans across the world can now go back to cursing Fox.
Sometime in October DC Collectibles drop the Batman the Animated Series Batmobile. This gem is part of the ongoing BTAS line due out sometime this month. As a collector of this series myself I can not wait to get my hands on this amazing looking recreation. As you can see from the video this Batmobile has lights, rolling wheels, and enough space in the cockpit for two figures. It is a must own for collectors of this line, Batman, or Batmobiles in general.
Back in September a picture posted on Reddit showed what looked to be a wall of posters featuring shows in Cartoon Networks current line up. At the end on the line is a poster containing an all to familiar logo, JLA. Speculation ran and has now been confirmed by Cartoon Network that a JLA show is coming in fall of 2016. As of this moment that is all the information available. As fans of DC animation know CN was the home of Justice League and Justice League Unlimited. Bruce Timm ran both shows and I personally hope he is somehow involved in the new show. I also wonder which version of the JLA will the team consist of. Will they go with the core seven? I'm sure Cyborg will be on the team, but with the popularity on Teen Titans maybe not. Will it be animated in the classic DCAU style or CG? So many more questions spring to mind as my anticipation on this show hits full throttle. As soon as DC and Cartoon Network release more information we here at Comics Remixed will provide our thoughts.
Ringside Fest 2015 is going on right now and WrestlingFigs is killing us with tons of pictures of Mattel's upcoming line ups for 2016! Behold the current offerings!
I love social media. Sure, it can sometimes cause idiotic drama that shouldn't have started to begin with, you get thousands of memes, pictures of peoples kids, funny videos, news and tons of other things. One more thing I love about it is being able to interact with your favorite comic professionals! Over on Facebook, fan favorite writer, Jimmy Palmiotti has decided to tease us with his latest project.
"HERE is an example of the art from our new book for AfterShock Comics called SUPERZERO. Amanda and I are writing this ongoing monthly title featuring the talents of Rafael de Latorre and Marcello Maiolo on art and John J Hill on letters. This comes out in December. Trust me, if you enjoy Harley Quinn and Starfire, then you will want to give this a try. Please pre order it with your local retailer, because it will be sold out if you don't."
There it is folks! Make sure to get those preorders in! The image alone has piqued my (and others on his page) interest!


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Genie and Victor are known as "wild children". They were unable to develop language due to lack of stimulus. Genie was locked away in her room for the first thirteen years of her life.
Victor was found at the age of twelve roaming through the woods. Theorists
suggest that these two children were unable to develop language because they were past the critical learning period of language. The critical period of language acquisition is from infancy to puberty.


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Being rejected by your dream college or conservatory will obviously lead to some unpleasant emotions. Now, my situation is likely not very similar to most others, as I already had a pretty good idea that I wasn't getting in after… like, two measures into my piece. As soon as I walked out of the audition room, I literally went into the second floor bathroom to cry. Like, ugly crying. Like, before my audition date, I can honestly say that only about five or six people had ever seen me cry; now, that number is probably closer to thirty if we're being honest. And then after crying in there, I went down to the student lounge in the basement (which only current BW students really know about, so none of the other auditioning students were in the room, and I was by myself for awhile) to silently cry. I got to pet a dog, so I ended up semi-okay after awhile, but things were rough.
I got most of the crying out of the way on that day. When I actually got my admission decision, I was on Spring Break (as you might imagine, my break was kinda ruined) and I was about to take a break at work. I shouldn't have even been on my phone at the time, but when I saw an e-mail with the subject "Your BW Conservatory Admission Decision" with the first line being "Dear Hope, thank you…" I already knew what it was about to say. I ended up reading the rest of the e-mail in the employee bathroom.
That's what I remember thinking after I finished reading. That familiar sinking feeling in the chest and watering of the eyes hit me like a freight train.
Now, I wasn't actually supposed to be on break anymore (yes, I went over the fifteen-minute time limit… I was grieving, okay?), so I told myself I could cry about it later, but for now I had some books to shelve. Even worse? Well, not much worse, and actually not worse at all, but still pretty bad? I made plans for later. So, not only could I not cry at work, but I had to go meet up with three of my friends and pretend I was okay.
I ended up not pretending I was okay. I texted one of them beforehand, straight up saying, "I just got the official rejection letter, so if I seem off today, that's gonna be why." Also, while I was there (trying to have a good time and make fun of STEM majors), one of the friends asked me about it. I tried to not talk about music at all, but I think I might have slipped up and made a self-deprecating joke about my abilities. This friend goes to BW as a National Security major, and had tried to convince me that I didn't do as bad as I thought I did, and probably got in (little did she know that I was being realistic– I knew) until I said, "No, like I actually got the e-mail today. It's official."
I could tell everyone in the room felt a little awkward about the situation (I mean, what do you say? "That's rough, buddy"?), but I think the subject got changed somehow.
Long story short, I never actually had the time to cry about it. But I'm glad I didn't cancel my plans (even though I really, really wanted to). Sometimes, the best way to deal with bad news is to surround yourself with friends who take your mind off of it. However, it is important to note: the way you deal with the initial shock sets the tone for your recovery.
It took me two months to "get over it." And by getting over it, I mean not thinking about it every second of the day. I still think about it at least once or twice every day, even though I'm in at Cleveland State. If I had simply allowed myself to be sad for awhile, the healing process might have accelerated. Yeah, the facade I tried to put up didn't fool my friends at all, but I still feel like I put a cap on my emotions. As a result, the admission decision kept nagging at me for weeks until I was nearly driven to insanity.
By the time April arrived, I was expected to be over it, or at least that was what I expected of myself. I felt like a nuisance by talking about it with others, especially when talking to non-musicians (which, only one or two of my close friends are musicians; only one is actually working towards a B.M./B.M.E.). I even considered talking to a therapist at one point, but that ended up not happening for some stupid reason (I may not be a talented musician, but I am talented at avoiding conversations and society in general). I just felt like I was stuck in some never-ending cycle of emotions, and I never fully dealt with any of them. I even began to have these weird things during choir when I couldn't sing– I was always slightly hyperventilating and on the verge of fainting, my singing being like, "Si…cu-u-t ce-e-rvu-u-s de-e-si de-erat ad fo-o-o-o-ntes." And all of this, I believe, was caused by hiding from my emotions.
I tried to power through it, acting like I wasn't hurt at all. In reality, I went through one of the most devastating things in my life. I mean, I have been to a few funerals for loved ones. So that was worse. But this? My entire existence revolved around the arts. Musical theatre, creative writing, guitar, singing, culinary art, voiceover– it was my passion. Being told that I actually sucked hurt, even if I knew it wasn't my best performance. Shockingly, self-deprecating jokes didn't make me feel any better, either.
So, what is the best way to deal with the initial shock?
The best way to deal with it is to acknowledge what happened, and understand that your feelings, whatever they may be, are valid. The main thing that held me back was the feeling that I shouldn't be hurt. That what happened was minor, so why was I so upset about it? There are people who are victimized by crime, who have faced failed relationships and marriages, who have failed out of college, and I was sad about this?
Yes, there are other issues in the world. But yours matters, too. Give yourself some time to be upset, and when you're ready, get back out there.


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Below are the basic steps to removing a dwelling.
- Weigh up all your options and costs.
- Purchase the removal house.
- Obtain information from a building certifier about any necessary building approvals.
- Speak to a town planner to confirm whether you need planning approval.
- Complete a Concurrence Agency Referral Form [PDF, 1.0MB], and pay the application fees.
- If the removal house is originally located in the Redlands, apply for Amenity & Aesthetics [PDF, 0.1MB] (under Item 2) using the concurrence agency referral form.
- Organise:
- approval to use State roads for the relocation—contact National Heavy Vehicle Register or call 1300 696 487
- building, plumbing, electrical and other required work
- plumbing approval (through Council) for the new location
- domestic driveway crossover approval (through Council) for the new location
- water supply (through Redland Water) for the new location
- final building approval (through a private certifier) for the new location.
Visit the application forms and fees page for more information about application requirements.


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Notice: On April 23, 2014, Statalist moved from an email list to a forum, based at statalist.org.
[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index]
st: RE: choosing between two non nested models
"Vassilopoulos Achilleas" <email@example.com>
st: RE: choosing between two non nested models
Thu, 2 Sep 2010 10:07:53 +0300
AIC and BIC values given by -glm- estimation adjust the log-likelihood and
penalty term by the number of observations in the model.
See post: http://www.stata.com/statalist/archive/2009-06/msg00884.html
Hope this helps,
_____________ - _______________
Achilleas Vassilopoulos
Agricultural University of Athens,
Dept. of Agricultural Economics and Rural Development,
Lab. of Political Economy and European Integration.
Iera Odos 75, 11855, Athens, Greece
Tel: (+30) 210-5294726
Fax: (+30) 2105294786
e-mail : email@example.com
-----Original Message-----
From: email@example.com
[mailto:email@example.com] On Behalf Of Kiran Safwan
Sent: Wednesday, September 01, 2010 11:11 AM
To: 'firstname.lastname@example.com'
Subject: st: choosing between two non nested models
I am trying to compare two models in stata. They are non-nested and the
number of observations are not same for both models.
I have tried "nnest" command but I assume that it works only if number of
observations are same for both models. Is it true? It says "factor variables
and time-series operators not allowed, r(101)"
Can anyone tell me how can I compare both models? Is there any other test
except J/Cox test?
* For searches and help try:
* http://www.stata.com/help.cgi?search
* http://www.stata.com/support/statalist/faq
* http://www.ats.ucla.edu/stat/stata/
* For searches and help try:
* http://www.stata.com/help.cgi?search
* http://www.stata.com/support/statalist/faq
* http://www.ats.ucla.edu/stat/stata/


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As children head back to school this week in New York State they may be subjected to Student Learning Objective assessments in the first week or two of the school year. An SLO pre-test is supposed to determine a student's prior knowledge of a subject to help calculate teacher growth for an educator's evaluation. Now imagine how students feel, particularly very young children, when they encounter words and phrases completely foreign to them at the beginning of the school year. Will frustration set them up for failure at the beginning of the school year?
This madness is a result of the new teacher evaluation law in New York. Teachers without a state test tied to their course may need to use a SLO pre-test
depending on their grade level or subject. Educators will actually hope
their students score low on these pre-assessments so the teacher can
show more academic growth from pre-test to final exam.
This is what education reform policy has done to our schools: Teachers will cheer against their students.
Parents need to determine if their child will be taking any of these assessments and let their school know that their child will not be taking these tests that are a waste of time and used for invalid methods of teacher evaluation.
A movement to end high-stakes testing in New York State and our nation. Parents need to start this revolution by opting out their children from state testing programs in order to take back public education from the corporate reformers who are destroying the education of our children.
Tuesday, September 3, 2013
Monday, September 2, 2013
Guide to early childhood- must read for parents
Thank you to United Opt Out and Nancy Carlsson-Paige for their work on this tremendous guide. This is a must read and share for parents in the eras of high-stakes and Common Core.
Sunday, September 1, 2013
More on the 95% Participation question.
Many families who are considering opting out or refusing the New York State Assessments have a major concern about the impact on their children's schools.
New York State Allies for Public Education has produced research on this important question:
New York State Allies for Public Education has produced research on this important question:
Click here for FAQ's on the 95% participation issue:
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Judith Moreland and Bo Foxworth in "Building the Wall." Below, Robert Schenkkan. Photos by Ed Krieger.
Fountain Theatre is assuming an especially prominent profile this week, with concurrent productions at its tiny home base in east Hollywood and at the larger Kirk Douglas Theatre in Culver City.
The somewhat mixed accomplishments of the two productions aren't as important as their aims. Both "Building the Wall" at the Fountain and the company's "Citizen: An American Lyric" at the Douglas are specifically addressing the current moment in American public life. Their creators appear to believe that at least some theater - a largely ephemeral art form -- should speak immediately and directly about what's happening now. Apparently they're not worried about whether these plays will still be revived in 10 or 50 years.
Robert Schenkkan's "Building the Wall" examines not only our early-Trump-era turmoil, referring to events that actually occurred as recently as February, but it also describes a possible worst-case scenario that could occur during the next two years.
Because a three-week trip out of town complicated my attempts to see "Building the Wall" when it opened in March, I didn't see it until last Monday. The following morning, the front page of the LA Times greeted me with this headline: "Trump's wall slips further out of reach," referring to the dwindling chances that a giant border wall will ever be approved, let alone built. So is Schenkkan's play already out-of-date?
No. The title is misleading. Schenkkan isn't discussing a literal wall. Set in 2019, his play contends that the Trump/Sessions notions about detaining and deporting the millions of undocumented immigrants who are already on this side of the border could result in a nightmarish sequence of events that might be worse than even a border-wall boondoggle.
The play has only two characters - a prisoner (Bo Foxworth) who had been in charge of one of the detention centers established to hold undocumented immigrants, and a historian (Judith Moreland) who's interviewing him, behind prison walls. Although the characters already know the major turns in the story that resulted in the imprisonment of this man, Schenkkan maintains a modicum of suspense before revealing the gory details to the audience.
It's easy to imagine a more exciting framework in which to tell this story - either for the stage or screen or both. But it's hard to imagine that any other format could have been assembled so quickly. Most of Schenkkan's and the Fountain's efforts occurred since the November election.
Besides the play's premiere at the Fountain, another production of it already had a short run in Denver, and a third is currently at Arena Stage in Washington D.C. (it will soon transfer to a run in the D.C. suburb of Silver Spring). A commercial off-Broadway production is scheduled to open in New York on May 21.
A more imaginative, larger-scale telling of the same story would have taken months or even years to write and produce. If Schenkkan's goal was for his play to serve as an alarm, he was right to seize the quicker route.
Indeed, if his ultimate goal is to help prevent the feds from approving the kind of detention centers mentioned in the play, he would probably feel gratified if his efforts succeeded to the extent that the play eventually feels dated. Right now, however, that probably isn't one of his concerns.
Beyond its tacit endorsement of the play's message, the Fountain was smart to volunteer its venue as the original room where Schenkkan's alarm went off. Intimate theaters are ideal for intimate two-character plays. This particular production, as staged by Michael Michetti, is so small-scale that it allowed the company to add extra seats on the Fountain's usual sidelines, expanding capacity from the venue's regular 78 to 94 (and selling more tickets). While four performances per week, in front of only 94 people each, aren't likely to influence the masses, the cumulative effect of several productions - especially the one in D.C. - might make a modest difference.
The Fountain had another reason to revamp its planned season to accommodate this play. New Actors' Equity rules went into effect in December that mandate payment of at least the minimum wage to Equity members by many sub-100-seat companies. The Fountain did not qualify as one of the many "membership companies" (run by Equity members themselves) that were granted waivers from the new rules.
Although the Fountain was among the vocal opponents of the proposed changes during the protracted campaign that "pro-99" activists waged against Equity. the company decided to move on, after a federal judge ruled in favor of the union, in December. In a statement on the Fountain blog in January, the Fountain didn't commit to using the new Equity contract for every show, but it also declared its intention to hire Equity actors much of the time, unlike some of the smaller companies that are planning to use fewer or even no Equity members.
In the program for "Building the Wall," the names of both actors are accompanied by the usual asterisk that denotes Equity membership. So the fact that there are only two of them in this production probably helped the company adjust to the new pay scale and the fact that it now covers rehearsals as well as performances.
Also in the program, three "executive producers" receive bios for "generously supporting our world premiere of Building the Wall." Others who love the Fountain should donate whatever they can to make sure the company has the funds to support the use of even more Equity actors in future productions.
For example, in an ideal world in which funding weren't a problem, the Fountain might have revived its wonderful 2016 production of "My Mañana Comes" to run in rep or simply on alternate weeks with "Building the Wall." The former explores the lives of undocumented immigrants, while the latter speculates on their possible deaths -- but without actually representing any of them on the stage.
Meanwhile, the Fountain also received some much-needed support from Center Theatre Group that enabled a remount of "Citizen: An American Lyric" at the Douglas. It was selected to be a part of CTG's Block Party, in which three smaller productions from LA were chosen for sequential two-week runs at the midsize Douglas.
"Citizen," based on a book of poetry by Claudia Rankine, focuses on being black in a society where many whites are still uncomfortable, sometimes on almost subconscious levels, around black people. Most of its Stephen Sachs-adapted vignettes are barely sketch-length. Each of six actors plays many different roles, directed by Shirley Jo Finney. Not much of it convincingly justifies the transition from page to stage, except for an extended section in the middle that covers the racial politics of being Serena Williams. This section at least whets the appetite for an actual play about the great tennis star.
In my last column, I mentioned that none of the three productions in Block Party (all of which I saw in their earlier versions) is explicitly related to the LA area. "Citizen" largely ignores the prominent roles played by other ethnic or racial groups, not just blacks and whites, in America's general cultural stew and LA's in particular. The first of the three Block Party productions, Coeurage Theatre's revival of Philip Dawkins' "Failure: A Love Story" was remarkably Chicago-specific, in the sense that CTG's recent revivals of "Zoot Suit" and "Chavez Ravine" were LA-specific. I appreciate Block Party's recognition of other LA theaters, but shouldn't "L.A.'s Theatre Company" insist on including at least one previously-untold LA story in its 2018 Party mix?
"The Bodyguard," now at the Pantages Theatre, is an LA story, with scenes set in an LA mansion, at the Mayan, at an Oscar ceremony. But it certainly isn't "previously-untold." It's based on the 1992 movie starring Whitney Houston as a pop diva and Kevin Costner in the title role. Deborah Cox now has Houston's role, but the stage musical still uses Houston's songbook - including a few numbers she sang in the movie. Such star turns produce a few moments of glitzy fun, but the thriller side of the script isn't very thrilling.
Scene from "The Bodyguard."
The real action at the Pantages this week was on the sidewalk, where long lines turned out Sunday for the first general sales of "Hamilton" tickets. Performances begin in mid-August. Don't worry - I won't expect "Hamilton" to include any scenes set in LA.
In the meantime, anyone looking for a classic musical fix has two excellent options. La Mirada Theatre's "West Side Story" staged by Richard Israel, has an exceptional Maria (Ashley Marie) and Tony (Eddie Egan). Fiasco Theater's "Into the Woods," directed by Noah Brody and Ben Steinfeld at CTG's Ahmanson Theatre, offers refreshingly distinctive orchestrations and musical direction plus a winning ensemble.
The 'uncanny' 'originalist'
While "Building the Wall" wins points for being provocative, another play with some relevance to today's political climate tries to mediate, if not to unite. In John Strand's "The Originalist," at Pasadena Playhouse, Justice Antonin Scalia hires a liberal African-American woman as a law clerk, more or less to provide him with a sparring partner. Edward Gero's impersonation of Scalia is uncanny, but the woman's role feels like a playwright's pawn contrived to create artificial tension resolved by artificial amity.
While "Building the Wall" makes the most of its constraining two-actor format, set slightly in the future, Thomas Gibbons' "Uncanny Valley" at International City Theatre in Long Beach feels somewhat too constrained by a two-actor format, in a story that's set decades in the future. In this case, one of the two characters is a (male) robot, and the other is an older woman who has been training him to take his eventual place as the repository of a dying old man's genetic information. It's a fascinating set-up, but it feels unfinished because three or even four characters who appear to be important in the narrative are simply talked about instead of seen.


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Don't Wanna Be an Evacuee: The Not-So-Calm Before the Frankenstorm
They haven't told us we have to evacuate yet, but I know they will. It's only a matter of time. Brigantine, just a few miles down the the ocean front, has set a mandatory evacuation for Sunday, and I heard they already called for an evacuation of Cape May County. That's for the entire County! So I know it's just a matter of time before they declare an evacuation for the town of Margate, where I live.
When they do it will be the second evacuation we've had in just over a year, and that's not counting that weird derecho storm, when we weren't evacuated, but lost our power for four days in early July.
If this all sounds like the signs of "storm fatigue" to you, I think you're right. This situation is fatiguing, and concerning, and frustrating, and somewhat maddening.
Here are a few of the things that kept me awake last night: Why did we buy a house that's a mile from the beach and 3 feet above sea level? If we stack all our stuff up on tables, are we really just doing the packing work for the looters? Maybe I shouldn't have been so eager to buy in bulk at last week's frozen food sale. If I take three showers before the storm, will it help me remember the blessed luxury of hot water? If we're evacuated, which friend will we stay with and will that friendship ever be the same afterward? As you can see, it was a restless night's sleep.
When Hurricane Irene hit in August of 2011, we got an evacuation notice for first time ever in my life. Being newbies at the process, we overreacted and made lots of rookie mistakes. I meticulously covered every window in the house with duct tape, only to find out they have determined taping windows is a complete waste of time and getting the tape off the windows later is so difficult it makes you feel like breaking them all instead and just starting over.
My wife and I struggled mightily with the process of determining what to take with you when you evacuate. Somethings seem fairly obvious - the kids and the pets should probably be included, but what about your high school yearbook? You mean to tell me we're leaving behind the $2000 flat-screen TV, but we're taking a musty copy of The Loyal Beavers Yearbook - Class of 1993? And one of the great miscalculations of my life was questioning to my wife the value of taking our wedding album. This time, the wedding album will be packed before the bottled water and the first-aid kit.
One of the worst parts of any storm situation is losing power. Quite simply, power outages are a pain in the ass! How did our ancestors get along all those years by candlelight? Waiting for the power to be restored is one of the world's biggest teases! During our four days without power after the derecho, we were one of the last houses in town to get power back. Few things are more frustrating than sitting quietly perspiring in your dark, sweltering house, while listening to the sound of your neighbor's (who NEVER lost power) central air conditioning system turning on. Now, that is a tease!
After being evacuated twice in a year, I'm hearing more of my neighbors opting for staying in their house and taking their chances. This conversation almost always includes their willingness to sit on the roof of their house if needs be, their plan to hide from the police warning them to flee for their lives, and stocking up on booze a big drunken "end of the world" party. To these folks, it seems that nothing gets you ready for a life and death situation better than drinking a bottle of Absolut and a 12-pack of Miller Lite.
Hiding out in my own home doesn't seem like the best and safest plan to me and my family so, when they tell us, we will once again become evacuees... reluctantly.


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The W.I.O.A. Out of School Youth (OSY) program assists eligible students, between the ages of 16 and 24, in reaching the goal of obtaining the GED then continuing on to post-secondary education and/or employment. We provide a variety of services to assist the student in making reasonable strides toward this goal. These services include tuition, tutoring, additional counseling, mentoring, transportation reimbursement, childcare assistance, career exploration, incentives and supply provisions as long as there is documented need for these services.
WIOA Summer 2014
Our clients must meet the eligibility requirements of the Workforce Innovation & Opportunity Act. This includes not having a high school diploma and being out of any school or training, meeting family income guidelines (receiving public assistance or having documented disability automatically meets this requirement) and documentation of one additional barrier. These barriers include parenting, pregnancy, homelessness, academic deficiencies (as verified through the TABE assessment), foster placement, previous legal problems, retention, or a documented need for assistance to prevent early exit from school.
We can assist a client with work experience, obtaining a GED, gaining work readiness, leadership development, mentoring, tutoring, supportive services (childcare, transportation reimbursement, etc.).
NOTE: The funding for this program is provided by the Workforce Innovation & Opportunity Act through the South Central Workforce Development Board. The contract for the youth programs has been awarded to Southside Virginia Community College, which provides the direction and coordination of the youth services.
Gaming Camp 2014
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Born January 20, 1926 in Johnstown, PA, Mr. Schaefer attended the University of Montreal before becoming choirmaster at his home parish, Our Mother of Sorrows in Johnstown. He also directed a choir at Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary parish in Johnstown.
He directed choirs in Toledo, Cleveland, St. Louis, and Omaha before accepting Fr. John J. Ording's challenge to build a first-rate choir of men and boys at St. Jude.
Sixteen years later, the St. Jude Choir of Men and Boys had achieved Fr. Ording's goal and ended up being the last Catholic men and boys choir in the region.
Styled in both sound and appearance (black cassocks and long white surplices) like an English cathedral choir, Mr. Schaefer's choir made the 10:30 High Mass a weekly highlight for parishioners and non-parishioners alike.
In addition to its responsibilities at St. Jude, the choir sang at several Detroit Police Memorial Masses, the University of Detroit Law Schools Red Mass, the Christmas program at the Detroit Historical Museum and civic programs at Wayne State University and Ford Auditorium.
Under Mr. Schaefer's direction, the choir also performed at the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C., the St. Louis Cathedral in St. Louis and at Kansas State University's Newman Club. He also was instrumental in bringing the United States Air Force Academy's Catholic Choir to St. Jude in 1972 to dedicate the church's second organ, originally situated behind the altar.
Between 1964 and 1980, the choir became an elite, close-knit group that included a ceremonial corps of white-gloved crucifer, thurifer, candle bearers and acolytes.
When he left St. Jude in 1980, he spent two years at St. Angela Church in Roseville and finished his career, between 1982 and 1993, at St. Marks Old Catholic Church in Detroit.
After Mr. Schaefer died on May 15, 1995 at Carroll Manor Nursing Home in Hyattsville, MD, a memorial Mass was said at St. Jude. It was concelebrated by Msgr. Thomas Villerot, Fr. Raymond Sayers and Fr. James OLeary.
In obituaries, which appeared in The Detroit News, Detroit Free Press and The Michigan Catholic, friends and former choristers remembered Mr. Schaefer's ability to maintain high standards and his ability to build character while building his choir.
"He knew what was right for the church and stuck to his guns very strongly," said Lloyd Schlaf in the May 19, 1995 Detroit Free Press.
In the same tribute, Paul Avery said, "The friendships that were built...last today. His influence carries forward with all of us. We all have completed college and gone on to good jobs. That was because of George."
It is also "because of George" that the Assumption Schola continues the tradition of all-male sung liturgical music at Assumption Grotto in Detroit, Mich.


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Each day we will select an extract from the Narnia novels, The Screwtape Letters or Mere Christianity, combined with a Bible passage (not necessarily restricted to Luke's gospel), something to think about, a prayer, and an action (usually from @40Acts).
We'd love it, if you're blogging, that you draw attention to other resources online that we can also connect with.
Housegroup materials: http://archive.bigbible.uk/2013/01/week3-not-a-tame-lion/
C.S. Lewis, The Horse and His Boy
"Child,' said the Lion, 'I am telling you your story, not hers. No one is told any story but their own."
Bible: John 21-20-23 http://j.mp/john21-2023
Think: Do we live in a world where we're 'too interested' in other people's stories? At the expense of our own?
Pray: We thank you that you've given each of us a unique path in life, and that we would seek to be the best 'story' we can as witnesses to you.


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"Sense is this wonderful word which is used in two opposite meanings. On the one hand it means the organ of immediate apprehension, but on the other hand we mean by it the sense, the Significance, the thought, the universal underlying the thing. And so sense is connected on the one hand with the immediate external aspect of existence, and on the other hand with its inner essence. Now a sensuous consideration does not cut the two sides apart at all; in one direction it contains the opposite one too, and in sensuous immediate perception it at the same time apprehends the essence and the concept. But since it carries these very determinations in a still unseparated unity, it does not bring the concept as such into consciousness but stops at foreshadowing it." (Hegel, in his Aesthetics: Lectures on Fine Art, as quoted in Jean Hyppolite's Logic and Existence)
I suppose I should give some time over to explain my most recent addition to the page, the new subtitle (or inscription below the title in the header), which has effectively been adopted as the official motto of the Tobe Hooper Appreciation Society.
Sense of course, as used here in the motto, suggests that second version of it ("the Significance, the thought, the universal underlying the thing") in Hegel's theory of phenomenology and epistemology, with regards to aesthetics and determination of the Beautiful. The epistemological concerns of Hegel may be too far up in the aether for quick results (after all, Hegel was long laid to rest before film became a vulgar artform), but the application to Hooper's craft is there at least in Hegel's thought's lineage with Kant's thought, in which Beauty is the result of the act of pure Judgment. In both cases - Hegel's Lectures, Kant's Critique - the "sensible diversity" (that which is sensed) is only evaluable, beyond matters of mere taste, if taken into light of its passage from the Sensible to the Concept, a process in which the faculty of "sense," as dually expressed above, is involved. For both cases, the matter of Beauty, Truth, and the Good is a matter of engaging the faculty of "sense." Few are the artists who work along these lofty lines of art's value, in which a process of achieving the Universal, the transcendental, is a whole other line of work - often very much involving matters of Spirit and the artist's spirit - than the one involving things like "success in the industry."
Hooper is such a filmmaker of Ideas. His films are streams of ideas - of cinematic matters of sense - and not products of blockbuster compatibility. Hooper's every creating gesture posits this unity between the external material that constitutes the indexical "film art," with the inner essence (the essential forms, and what can be said of there being Absolutes in art) and concepts of his processes, which imbue full apprehension - self-reflection, the true Ground Zero of sense, but also indicative of a true appreciation and wish to be a part of [a history of] cinema's Form - into the resonance of the piece of art.
Continuing on, from Jean Hyppolite's exegesis of Hegel's aesthetics Logic and Existence:
"Signification such that it appears in language, sense as the becoming of the concept in discourse, exist first in relation to the movement which seems to engender them. There is no sense before language, any more than there is an ineffable Absolute, or any more than there would be dreams for the one who would never be awake. The arts which precede poetry in the ascending series of the fine arts, architecture, sculpture, painting, and music, give us the illusion of an ineffable which would be sense without speech, and in relation to which we could say, in a paradoxical form, that speech is itself mute." (Hyppolite, Logic and Existence)
In positing the symbiosis of the sensible and the signification, the external and the absolute, the Phenomenology and the Logic, Hegel and Hyppolite pinpoint the banal ingredient of a work of true Knowledge, or epistemological value (via language, speech): self-consciousness, of the processes of language between the sensible and the concept. Hooper's work is uncannily prescient of how concept comes through within the form (language) of his films. Hyppolite pinpoints poetry as something of the apex of self-conscious art, this through its language, which is some great compaction of the expression and the reflection of itself (see quote below). Then, it must be said Hooper's camera is poetry not due to the power of his images, but due to a language of the camera, which is always a reflection of itself (not a conveyance system of the narrative), of forms employed. This is the ground zero of sense.
Hyppolite provocatively continues:
"Couldn't we prefer the image to speech as the carrier of sense? Poetry, however, appears as the endpoint of a movement which remolds the sensible in order the signify it. Poetry is the supreme art; preserving from the sensible only the sound that disappears as soon as it is emitted, sublating the elaboration of the world of sounds in music, poetry is the originary light of the world, because it says and narrates the world. Poetry also says the "I" who narrates and who, first thrust into his narrative with epic poetry, reflects upon himself in lyric poetry and who, with dramatic poetry, is placed within the frame of his world. But if poetry is the apex of art, it is also the sign of its decline. It is complete in the double sense of the term. The negation of the sensible is almost too complete so that there is still art and already pure signification; sense as sense, that is, philosophy, shines through."
Sentimentality is the boon of the immediate, of an anti-philosophy. Poetry deals in emotions, but narrates with language - the passage between consciousness and concept. Cinema does not readily brandish its language, but presents only its recorded consciousness of space and time, something of an inherent neutrality. The cinema that betrays cinema's inherent language of neutrality by ignoring it (often, in result, flying in its face) is the birth of the sentimental (this a rather Bazinian line of thought). Hooper's artistic identity is of a transcendental agency, so aware of the form he works with and deigns to employ: the scientific, neutral, Apollonian concepts he administers upon himself and his work is the narrating "I" in the poetry of his camera, moreover a poetic agency as there is nothing more convincing of self-reflection than Hooper's miraculous, and beautiful, self-restraint and employment of structures.
Not that a "cinema of sense" monopolizes or bowdlerizes the idea of great cinema - this vulgar, subjective art that cannot be placed with the same measuring sticks as such that Bach would provide music (his polyphony measurable with numbers and countable statistics analyzing the complexity of his usage of notes, timings, the extent of fingering skill). Even the fine arts are more measurable, for it is the film art's great arrogance that it wants to be the music equivalent of the visual art, yet requires not half of music's precision or skill.
Anyway, let's make an example of the Apollonian cinema versus the Dionysian sort:
I love Boorman's film maudit Exorcist II (not too surprisingly), whose greatest sin is trying to be the Star Wars of demon possession films. ('Exorcist II' spoilers herein.) But Linda Blair is more a chipper, nascent Clara Barton than Luke Skywalker, Pazuzu more floating idea - mostly within the mind of Richard Burton's priest - than an Emperor Palpatine. Past its ill-conceived passive-aggression towards every facet of the original film (including its domestic drama potency) and its confusion over whether a demon still lives within Linda Blair's Regan (but it was exorcised! More gratuitous contrarian aggression towards the original?), the film is still one that asks fervently the science vs. religion question and actually gets it right (with a thorough agnosticism) and recasts the mild-mannered Kitty Winn (as Regan's perennial young nanny) to become the film's bitter cleric for the ecstatic sacrificing, uttering the pitiful line "I chose evil" in a croak of repentance after willingly sending herself into a cleansing flame. (End of spoilers.) But Boorman is a Dionysian sort of filmmaker, his films the pinnacle of a great cinema of emotion and disorder. Deserving as Exorcist II is of further unpacking, it pays off in a rather immediate way... such that I imagine devoting much time to it (in addition, exposing myself constantly to the work's general aura of hysteria, and its occasional bouts of actual embarrassment, as I will admit the film has a few issues of dramatic credibility) would result in my quickly getting exhausted by having to deal with it and its mode of swinging to the fences.
Hooper's work, on the other hand, is of such a mind-freshening clarity. Reviewing his work is like revisiting a pleasant melody, like listening to an oboe and clarinet duet (the oboe of course being Salieri's voice of God, the clarinet an instrument of almost equal, simple, reedy delight). The sense of grammar roots around in your mental plumbing and clears it like a pipe snake, and the cleanness of how Hooper communicates alleviates mental congestion like the self-satisfying undulations of a Bach contrappunto. The motions of their work are so clear, so intelligent, that other work, great work, seems to suddenly, in relation, become bogged in tar - works lost in themselves when there are greater, clearer concerns involving self-reflection, appreciation and implementation of structures, with which to create horizons, expanding out above Apollonian colonnades (sorry, Exorcist II, I really do love you, I just cannot imagine spending much time with you, just like I can't imagine spending much time in forest bacchanals listening to insistent pan flute).
This sort of self-reflection in art, this fanaticism of the formal, is essentially the spine of Neoclassical aesthetic theory, and, somehow, Hooper is a beacon of it in a cinematic history that thrives on sensuousness. This is why I find Hooper's most telling analogues to be those other purveyors of scholastic film, in which concepts and conceptual reserve drive a filmmaking of tonal and formal experimentalism, of self-reflection and cinematic reflexivity. I think of Straub-Huillet, Agnes Varda, Joe Dante, even.
Apollonian values are about the merging of the sensible and the logic. Logic, as evinced through structures, pervades the work of these artists. Think Straub-Huillet's utterly logical anti-narrative narrative films (without the smug Godard's anarchic rejection of narrative), think Varda's playful but categorical utilization of narrative concepts (her films all feel like chamber pieces without being so, much like Hooper), or Dante's pure irony that permeates into visuals that find artifice in painstaking visual order. This art takes the sensible and makes it the concept. Hooper's every camera move is the act of creating rationally. If an artist speaks so much, so determinedly, using the "I" of language, a permanence of the work is gained, earned.
Hyppolite: "The one who speaks guarantees the permanence of these determinations [those of the "I" in language]. He is himself this formal permanence, this abstract tautology of a content which holds in the particularity of its distinct determination."


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- Spectrum Noir Accredited Colorist - Spectrum Noir Educational Design Team -Threaders US Design Team
Saturday, May 21, 2016
Thanks {For All the Candy!}
6 comments:
A lovely card, just perfect for a thank you card. Thanks for joining Aud Sentiments challenge. ElaineReplyDelete
What a super card. Love the chocolate bars. Feel sure the lady will love receiving it. Thanks for joining in with us over at myshericrafts this fortnight.ReplyDelete
Sue DT
A yummy looking card .Thank you for joining us at Aud Sentiments challenge good luck Ginny ♥ReplyDelete
Aud Sentiments
My Blog As I do Rodos
What a sweet and thoughtful card! the chocolate bar looks real! Thanks for joining us at My Sheri Crafts.ReplyDelete
Fabulous card, I love the design with those chocolate bars. Thanks for joining us at Jade's Sparkling Butterflies. Cathy DT xReplyDelete
What a very pretty card!! Thanks for joining us at "Simply Create Too", hope to see you next time again.ReplyDelete
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Han Solo standalone 'Star Wars' film announced
The fourth Star Wars film in production tackles a legendary character
By: Ben Gourlay | Celebrities & Entertainment News | Posted: Jul 8, 2015 5:23 am
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Ahead of the annual San Diego Comic Con which will be the epicenter of all things geeky for the next week, Disney and Lucasfilm have announced that they given the greenlight to a second 'Star Wars' anthology film, which will revolve around the legendary "stuck up, half-witted scruffy-looking nerf-herder" (not to mention all round cool guy) Han Solo.
To be directed by '22 Jump Street' and 'Lego Movie' directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, the upcoming film will feature a much younger Han Solo and thus won't see the return of 72 year-old Harrison Ford in his much loved role. The as-yet unnamed film is the fourth Star Wars film in production. The first anthology film 'Rogue One' will be released in December 2016.
NEWS SOURCES:Variety.com
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Got an opinion on this news? Post a comment below!


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Not to mention Charlie's disappointment at being left out (although I had at least brought her some ginger cookies for this possibility), I found myself also conflicted. On the one hand, I am glad her teachers are giving her early positive reinforcement for doing homework and remembering to bring it back, but on the other I am really hoping we won't continue through the remainder of the weekly alphabet homework with these kinds of sugary treats. What ever happened to high fives and ribbons? Or the prize box from my own childhood with cheap rubber finger puppets and springy pencil eraser toppers?
Grandmothers everywhere are rolling their eyes at me right now. I swear I'm not trying to be a killjoy. I have a child psychology and public health background, so I'm interested in nutrition, food science, and how they relate to kids' brains. I have learned in my research that kids who positively associate food with rewards have more risk later with weight problems, and I also know sugar sets them up for future food abuse troubles.
I admit to smiling on the way home as we discussed what exactly this magical lollipop in her hand was all about.
What's my lollipop called, Mommy?
A tootsie pop.
Ha! Tootsie. Does it say toot, toot?
No, but it does have a chocolate candy inside called a tootsie roll.
IT DOES?! Wow!
(five minutes later, cue inevitable first reaction to a tootsie pop)
Mommy, it's taking me too many licks to get to the candy in the middle, and I can't figure out how to bite it.
I'm not always a candy troll, and I don't hate tootsie pops, I love them! Who doesn't? Childhood memory recalls how many licks it takes to get to the center...thhhhreee. Nor do I fight occasions like Valentine's Day and Halloween when the kids get more treats. These holidays are great departures from the standard answer of "No, we don't have any candy." And as for grandmas, I am happy to let them give the kids extra treats for the same reason. Grandmas are exempt from the rules of parenting. But school and home are different from the rest, and I wish we could as a culture extricate ourselves from our traditions of offering food for rewards now that the results are in. We know the damage we are doing to our children's long-term health, so why do we do it?
My basic philosophy of serving food at home is simple (I covered the topic of food rules for kids more in depth here). The kids must try one or two bites of everything before being excused from the table, and we save fruit for the end of the meal. To them, fruit is the sweet treat! I don't bribe them to finish their food or punish them by not serving fruit. If they eat only a single pea and half a piece of toast, I sigh, grit my teeth, and hope they will eat more at the next meal.
Dessert is usually ice cream or cookies and is a "sometimes food;" if they're asking for it, and we have it, then I generally give it to them {note: I'm not suggesting you can't refuse treats when your kids misbehave, but I wouldn't tie the two together. If they're being bratty, I simply say "We eat dessert sometimes, and tonight isn't one of those times." The kids know I won't budge so don't bother me about it}. I don't buy many sweets so am able to give an honest "sorry, haven't got any" answer the majority of the time.
Come to think of it, I usually serve dessert when I need to buy myself time, like if I'm in the middle of cleaning the kitchen or want to finish a conversation with a friend. I'll also admit to bribing kids with a food-like-substance, if that's what you call a vitamin, when I want them to use the potty before we leave the house. My kids love vitamins like they're a controlled substance and would no doubt OD on them in a second were I not present to provide parental oversight.
While it's not easy to allow them to refuse a meal I made, I feel it's better than an alternative in which we become tangled in a food dance of power struggles and elaborate rules and rituals. The simpler the rule, the more likely my kids will get it and not question it. Vivi is one of the world's best negotiators, so I'm sure her behavior was a gradual shift away from her innate need to badger me. I fight the good fights, and to me nutrition is one of the most important.
Let's also establish that I'm not perfect by any means. I am lucky not to live within reasonable driving distance of a Chick-fil-A. Even so, I still fall off the food-as-reward wagon occasionally, like when my first instinct was to offer Vivi candy for using the potty. I've hopped back on the wagon, and we used a reward-free method to potty train Charlotte and are using painting Vivi's toe nails as her reward for reaching her current no-thumb-sucking goal. When my kids get a shot at the doctor's, they do get a sticker and lots of hugs, but they do not get a food bribe.
In the end, it probably won't hurt that the girls got occasional food treats. Even with the lollipops, I still love Genevieve's teachers, especially when they send home science experiments like this one:
|Look like candy? They're not!
Have you seen those balls before? They are made of the same material as the gel in a diaper. They start small, and you leave them in water to let them absorb it. Then they are slippery and bouncy. We had fun chasing them all over the kitchen. The best part is that they weren't sticky like a normal bouncy ball so didn't pick up the crumbs or hair on the floor. I didn't worry about them being potentially toxic because Charlie is over the eating everything in sight stage, but I would caution against playing with this polymer if you have a toddler who isn't past that age.
How does your school handle rewards for hard work and following directions? If it hasn't been what you wanted, have you tried to change the system? A friend and I were thinking of buying a bunch of dollar store junk and making our own prize box to donate to the classroom.
Update (9-27-12): Vivi turned in her second round of homework today and received a little plastic toy instead of candy. Score! It would be even better if we could avoid the plastic junk and sugary junk, but between the two I vote plastic. Sorry, environment. After I wrote this article, I read a post by another parent and real food evangelist about how she doesn't abide processed candy at all, even at Halloween. There's some food for thought.
Editor's note: This post is a part of Monday Mania, The Homestead Barn Hop, Frugal Days, Sustainable Ways, Real Food Wednesday, Mom's Library, Your Green Resource, Freaky Friday, and Fight Back Friday.


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Doctor & Healthcare Practitioner
North York
Tell us a little about yourself.
I am a doctor by training, a neurologist. In Canada, I acquired three new specialties: acupuncture, massage therapy and homeopathy.
Where is your family from?
We came from Kazakhstan in 1995, and have lived in Canada for 23 years.
My parents are from Vinnitsa, which historically had a large Jewish community. My father was drafted into the army in 1942 at age 18, and was part of the infantry that ended the war. He was wounded several times. After the war, he graduated with honors from medical school. In the Estonian town of Narva he founded neurological services, and was awarded the Order of Red Banner of Labor for his many years of dedicated work. Given the fact that his name was Michael Aronovich Farber, you can imagine how great his accomplishments must have been in order for a Jew in the Soviet Union awarded this prestigious award.
At that time, it was impossible to observe Jewish traditions while maintaining positions of professor and head of department. But my father refused to join the ranks of the Communist Party. My father came from Vinnitsa, where his religious father would wear a tallit and tefillin and pray daily. My grandfather never wanted to leave Vinnitsa, because there was kosher food, and he strictly observed the kashrut. Also, the arrival of such a outwardly religious father could adversely affect my father's career, but because at that time he was the only neurologist in Khazakstan and treated the whole party elite, he got away with a lot.
When my father was invited to Switzerland to speak at the International Congress, a report he developed on a new method of treatment of lumbar degenerative disc disease was not released. Also, he was not allowed to participate in a trip to Italy, even though it was organized by the medical school.
My father was a unique and outstanding diagnostician doctor who saved thousands of lives. When we come to Narva on vacation, it was a sight to behold as people rushed to him and literally kissed his hands. He was very well-educated and knowledgeable in various fields, and he authored three books and 250 scientific publications. His books were studied by thousands of medical students, and his signature is on hundreds of medical diplomas. My father recently passed away, and it was a great sorrow for us. We are very proud of my father and of his achievements.
What do you do in your free time? Do you have any hobbies?
I'm very busy with my work; a medical practice in two hospitals leaves little time for hobbies. In addition, I am constantly learning, acquiring new skills and knowledge, the love of which I inherited from my father. My brother is also a doctor, a neurologist and professor, still working in Russia in the city of Cherepovets.
If you were given the opportunity to meet anyone, who would you choose?
I would love to talk to my father's head academician, Dr. Davidenkov, who I would have asked a lot of professional questions. The beginning of his research on the treatment of muscular dystrophy was derailed due to the ideological course of those years, and I would be very interested to hear about the results.
What are your future plans?
I have an only son, and I want to become a grandmother and one attend the Bar or Bat Mitzvah of my grandchildren, because we are proud of the fact that in Canada we have the opportunity to observe the traditions of our people.


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PCM 44th Annual Block Party
Gold Sponsor
Kitch, Drutchas Attorneys & Counselors
Bronze Sponsors
John and Leeanne Stenson
Brian Keith
Michigan Chaplains Association
Absopure Water
ARISE Detroit!
Erwin and Judith Aufdemberge
Elizabeth Hakola
Irene Martin
Carol Pohl
Eyla Russ
Lorraine and Glen Sattlemeier
44th Annual Block Party Details
Greetings in Christ Jesus!
It is time for Project Compassion Ministries 44th Annual Block Party on Saturday, August 5th bringing the Love of Christ to residents in over eight nursing homes on East Grand Boulevard in Detroit. The Block Party gives nursing home residents the chance to gather on the lawns outside of their homes and to socialize with our volunteers, (both young and old) from Detroit and neighboring communities. They come together for one purpose: to bring the Love, Compassion and Joy of our Lord to His eldest children!
This year we are striving to ensure participation of our donors, churches and social organizations in our block party. Most nursing home residents do not have regular visitors and greatly enjoy the conversations, the attention, the prayers, the games, the songs and (most of all) YOUR presence. We are currently in need of entertainers: singers, musicians, dancers, clowns, magicians — you name it!
Please pray about what you can provide on this special day. Join the other volunteers for a continental breakfast, orientation for the day's visits, and team assignments, at 12:00 p.m. at Iroquois Avenue Lutheran Church, located at 2411 Iroquois Avenue, Historic Indian Village, Detroit 48214.
Just before 1:00 p.m., volunteers will be transported to the nursing home visitation starting point by a PCM "God's Love Bus." Volunteers may also choose to drive their cars to the starting points. The party will conclude by 3:00 pm. Volunteers are encouraged to gather back at the church around 3:15 pm for a time of sharing and socializing.
If you are not able to join us at the Block Party, please prayerfully consider one of the following sponsorship opportunities.
Platinum Sponsor $2,500 Gold Sponsor $1,000
– Prominent Logo on all Print Materials – Logo on all Print Materials
– Mention in all Media Releases – Mention in all Media Releases
– Acknowledgement on Website/Social Media – Acknowledgement on Website/Social Media
Silver Sponsor $500 Bronze $250
– Acknowledgement in all Print Materials – Acknowledgement on Website/Social Media
– Acknowledgement on Website/Social Media
In addition, you are invited to go to explore other ways to provide assistance and support to this wonderful ministry, especially the Chaplain and God's Love Bus ministries. Please prayerfully consider making a financial donation to support the ministry, volunteer your time and talents, or find many other ways to contribute.
The enclosed Block Party flyer gives more information about the event, as well as some ways that you, your church or social organization can make this a special day for the nursing home residents – and for yourselves. For more information or to sign up, please call Barb Freeborn at Project Compassion at 313-897-7470 or 248-797-9046 cell.
Chaplain Eric Stenson, Executive Director


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9:30 Worship
Wesley's traditional service is a wonderful worship experience grounded in our historic traditions. Trumpets, organ, choir, formal liturgy and meaningful sermons help shape this service. Students actively participate in all areas of this worship service.
The service takes place in Wesley's historic sanctuary. The architecture, stained glass windows and original carvings are stunning features of Wesley's sanctuary and help to create a feeling of being steeped in the ancient traditions of the church. The open and diverse congregation, the symbolically rich liturgy, and meaningful preaching however make Wesley a worshipping community that is fully present and relevant in the 21st century.
What to Expect at Wesley's 9:30 Traditional Service
People begin to gather for worship. Some sit in the pews quietly, spending a few moments in reflection and prayer. Others greet one another, meet new people or catch up with old friends in the back of the sanctuary. As 9:30 draws close, the organist begins the prelude welcoming worshippers to find a seat amongst the gathered community. Wesley's clergy process during the prelude, reaching the chancel steps in time to turn and welcome the congregation. "Wesley is a diverse and welcoming congregation," the pastor says and the whole congregation responds together, "We welcome and extend the grace of God to everyone." Our mission at Wesley is to be just that and we desire our worship service to reflect our vision of that kind of community.
As the service continues the congregation is invited to join in singing the opening hymn. Music is a very important part of worship at Wesley, whether it is congregational singing, choral presentations, solos or instrumentals. We value singing together and all the ways music moves and guides us in giving praising and thanksgiving to God.
Children are important in the life of Wesley Church and we reserve a special place in our service of worship to engage with the youngest among us. The children are invited to come forward after the opening hymn to meet with one of the clergy or one of the wonderful lay members of our church for a special time of learning and experience. Parents are invited to accompany their children if that is more comfortable for them. This time is often just as meaningful for the rest of the congregation as it is for the kids.
The prayers of the people bring the needs of our community and our world before God as we seek to express both our thankfulness to God as well as our requests. We believe God hears our prayers and is shaping us through this time into the community we are called to be. The reading of Scripture and the proclamation of the Gospel through thought provoking and action inspiring sermons are also shaping us into this dynamic community of faith and practice. We believe the words of the Bible and our clergy's sermons inspire us to hear a message for day.
The time of proclamation leads into a time of response, as the congregation is invited to return our selves and our gifts back to God through offerings. At Wesley we recognize giving as a spiritual discipline that engages us deeper into the life of the church and moves us to meeting the needs of the world. Guests should not feel they have to contribute to the offering, but they are invited into this meaningful time of spiritual connection with God and others.
On the first Sunday of each month the congregation participates in the Sacrament of Holy Communion. This is a meaningful time around the Lord's Table to which everyone is invited. At Wesley we practice open communion, which means you do not need to be a part of the United Methodist Church, or any church, to receive. All who seek Jesus are welcome to participate in the sacrament of communion regardless of your age, race, economic standing, sexual orientation, marital status, or physical condition. The bread and cup are the gifts of God for the people of God.
The traditional service concludes with a final hymn, and a spoken benediction. As the clergy recess the congregation is invited to greet their neighbors with the passing of the peace, one of the most ancient practices of the church. At Wesley we seek to be peacemakers in all we do, so this traditional passing the peace is how we choose to conclude our service of worship. We are sent out to be peacemakers in our daily lives.
Dress at Wesley
Dress is casual at all services, although there is a great mix of dress at the 9:30 traditional service. You, however, are welcome to wear whatever feels most comfortable for you.
Coffee Hour
All are invited for a time of refreshment after the 9:30 service in the Watseka Lounge from 10:30 to 11:00 a.m. for continued conversation, meeting new people and catching up with old friends. Fair Trade Organic coffee is served along with home made cookies, etc. There is also fair trade coffee available for purchase during coffee hour at the west end of Watseka Lounge.
Special Worship at Wesley
Wesley finds great inspiration for today in the timeless and meaningful traditions of the ancient church. Wesley follows the church calendar year inviting the congregation into meaningful seasons of participation including Advent, Christmas, Lent, Holy Week and Easter. Throughout the year, there will be several special services in addition to the liturgical seasons and special Sundays including Peace with Justice Sunday, United Methodist Women Sunday, Earth Day Sunday, World Communion Sunday, and several others.
*This is not an exhaustive list of all the special or liturgical Sundays celebrated at Wesley.


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Basketball season is looming on the horizon. The NBA 2012-13 season tips off on Tuesday, October 30th with the Miami Heat facing the Boston Celtics in a rematch of the 2011-12 Eastern Conference Final. Who's excited!? For the moment while we anticipate the new season, let's take a moment to realize that there has been a lot of offseason moves made. There are players on new teams, there are teams in new cities and then there's D. Wade who signed a sneaker deal with Olympic gold medalist Li-Ning and unveiled his new "Way of Wade" sneaker.
"I have certain goals that I want to reach and I felt that I had to leave to reach those. So I'm doing things a little differently. That's how I am, in a sense. I'm not necessarily a status-quo type guy." – Dwayne Wade
Wade's first sneaker deal came with Converse, which was then brought out by Nike. Shortly after he left Converse for Jordan Brand, which was also owned by Nike. Wade spent 9 years with the brand until a few weeks ago. The new deal is still in the works and the debut of the sneaker in US retail stores is slated for 2013. The $120 price tag reaches out to the middle-class of the US and China where the sneaker is projected to be a major success.
Seeing all the great things China has going for them with the NBA finding new found interest in going global, coupled with the stranglehold Nike has on basketball in the US, now add that to Wade's "non status-quo" mentality and we feel the new deal looks like a great move for Wade. It's a move that can open a lot of doors for other athletes, sneaker brands and the game itself.


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The minute somebody will have a bit of income, it's not at all too early to get a financial consultant. If you're earning profits, have expenses to pay for and optimism intended for one's destiny then you need to possess a spending budget. It is really important to realize where exactly your money goes. Knowing that helps you discover how to help save and how to differentiate your wages. A financial advisor melbourne can easily mature together with you. They may be very helpful when you initially go into the labor force. They are often with you whenever you get married which in turn adds one more cash flow. Personal financial consultants can assist you understand if it is the correct time to buy your primary property. Youngsters might be a game-changer for almost any financial budget. Middle age shows the requirement for personal savings, pension accounts, as well as perhaps re-financing of the family residence. There comes an occasion when life insurance along with estate preparation should be mentioned.
Life might be challenging enough. Not enough people know exactly what is usually right to do with his or her financial circumstances. Working with a monetary expert together with you each and every period of your life can help you generally have an idea into the future. They could help to make absolutely sure you might have adequate money in the bank for that family holiday or the emergency home repair that unexpectedly appears. They are able to help you reserve the cash to send your sons or daughters for higher education and for you to definitely have the funds for to retire when the time comes. This is basically the task of a financial consultant that may help you understand exactly where your dollars will go and how to be sure it is there for your needs as it's needed.