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In recent years, there has been a great effort to meet a rising need and demand for innovative and therapeutic services that can give children on the Autism Spectrum the best chance to develop intellectually and socially; to discover their talents and to cope with their challenges. There are more creative art therapists offering services for this population, but are seeking effective and imaginative ways to work without compromising the goals of the field.
Art Therapy can help the child with Autism in many ways. Some main areas that art therapists focus on include: increasing communication and social skills, developing a sense of individuality, building of relationships, and facilitating sensory integration (Betts, 2005). Children on the Autism Spectrum struggle with all these challenges in varying degrees however communication is an area that will affect them the greatest. We need to define what communication is for the child with Autism. It is not just language as a form of communication, but rather the totality of the communicative framework that appears from infancy onward which experts such as Daniel Stern and Donald Winnicott theorize. (Evans and Dubowski, 2007). We need to understand these basic areas and become aware of the level which the child with Autism is functioning developmentally in order to provide appropriate therapeutic interventions.
The DIR®/Floortime™ Model( Developmental, Individual Difference, Relationship-based) is a systematic way of working with the child that enables him to climb the developmental ladder and takes him back to the milestones that may have been missed earlier on (Greenspan and Weider, 1998). The six milestones within the model include: 1) Self regulation and interest in the world, 2) Intimacy, 3) Two-way communication, 4) Complex communication, 5) Emotional ideas, and 6) Emotional thinking. This model is a framework that helps clinicians, parents and educators perform a comprehensive assessment and develop an intervention program tailored to the unique challenges and strengths of children with Autism Spectrum Disorders and other developmental challenges. Greenspan explains that the five activities to engage children in Floortime are to observe, approach, follow the child's lead, extend and expand play, and let the child close the circle of communication.
The Creative Arts Therapies combined with the DIR®/Floortime™ Model creates a unique and comprehensive approach that accomplishes these tasks. The blend of a child-centered focus along with creative and expressive modalities brings together a dynamic and integrative model that children thrive on. Art Therapy can help children with sensory issues or deficits "play" with materials in their own way and at their own pace; then develop a system of regulation to participate in artistic expression. Dance and Movement Therapy has been incorporated successfully as well; using the kinesthetic qualities to help children move purposefully and engage socially in sensorial activities. Dr. John Carpente, a music therapist has incorporated the DIR®/Floortime™ Model into his work as well. He states that the therapist's task is to improvise music built around the child's responses, reactions, responses, and/or movements to engage him or her in a musical experience that will facilitate (musical) relatedness, communication, socialization, and awareness (Carpente, 2009).
Art Therapy has unique qualities that help the child with Autism. Many children with Autism tend to be visual learners and traditional methods of instruction can often be quite challenging. Therefore, visual art directives and projects are a great way to help children with Autism learn and communicate, as well as interact and function in the world.
Betts, D. J. (2005). The art of art therapy: Drawing individuals out in creative ways. Advocate: Magazine of the Autism Society of America, 26-27.
Carpente, J (2009). The Effectiveness of Nordoff-Robbins Music Therapy within a Developmental, Individual-Differences, Relationship-based (DIR®)/Floortime™ Framework to the Treatment of Children with Autism. Dissertation, Temple University.
Evans, K., & Dubowski, J. (2001). Art Therapy with children on the Autistic Spectrum: Beyond Words. London, UK: Jessica Kingley.
Greenspan, S. and Wieder, S. (1998). The child with special needs. USA: Da Capo Press.


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Weekly, maybe even daily journal of a 17 year old raising chickens and bees.
Very Happy Chicks
Yesterday I put the babies outside. They had a great time except for two little things. The first one was when my friend Liam was looking in their little play pen and he said "hey O don't you have six baby chicks." So I ran over to where they were and I could hear little Cotton excitedly chirping away in our neighbors lawn. So I went and got her and put her back in their cage. The second was a little bit later, Liam and I had been putting a couple of ants in their cage so they could eat them and play with them. We were watching them play when I saw Ilya choking or shaking her head and I knew something was wrong. So I picked her up and the ant which was pretty big had clamped on to her face/lip. But we couldn't get it off until we pulled hard, but cute little Ilya was okay.
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subset: commoncrawl


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Ufa industrial production index amounted to 101 percent for the first nine months of 2014
UFA, 29 October 2014. /Bashinform News Agency, Rozaliya Valeeva/.
For the first nine months of 2014 the index of industrial production in Ufa constituted 101 percent, the maximum increase was recorded in mining industry, the Deputy Head of the Ufa Administration Ildar Hasanov reported at the press conference.
The total investment amounted to 35.2 billion rubles in the first half of 2014, which is higher than last year by 6.1 percent.
Currently in Ufa 114 projects are implemented with about 174.2 billion rubles of investment, it will be created more than 16.4 thousand jobs. Another 51 projects (54.8 billion rubles volume) are at the stage of completion with creation of over five thousand jobs.
In particular, it is production of helicopter engines parts at UMPO. It is already spent 1.1 billion rubles; the total project cost is more than 10 billion rubles. It is construction of a four-storey building for vitamins production (JSC "Pharmstandard") with investment of 3.7 billion rubles. A new complex with a total cost of 2.8 billion rubles will be constructed at "Immunopreparat" company (Ufa branch of "Microgen").
There are also investment projects in the energy sector, in particular, the construction of HPP-5. The investor of the project is Bashkir Generation Company. For the entire period of the project it is planned to assimilate more than 10 billion rubles.
During January-September 2014 the retail trade turnover totaled 315.3 billion rubles. This is more than half of the republican total and exceeds the level of the previous year by 7.9 percent. The turnover of catering for the nine months, according to preliminary estimates, amounted to 10.9 billion rubles, or 106.4 percent compared to last year.
For the first nine months of 2014 residential houses with total area of 458.8 thousand sq m were built and commissioned, which is higher than last year by six percent.
With regard to the average monthly salary, in January-August 2014 it amounted to 33,559 rubles among employees of large and medium-sized enterprises of Ufa, which is by 7.4 percent higher than for the same period of the last year. Ufa budget received 15.1 billion rubles, of which its own revenues constituted 8.1 billion rubles.


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She is doing fine with walking and even occasionally passing other dog/handlers along the way without issues. We have three doggy friends in the neighborhood now, Sam a nine month old GSD, Lily a 4 year old Bichon/Maltese and Charlie a two year old Pointer. So three very different sizes, shapes, and ages and Reyna does very well with all of them. She can even walk with Lily or Sam, which has been very freeing. Even 6 months ago her leash frustration was so bad that if she was going to be close to another dog she HAD to be off leash or she would flip her lid. Now she can walk side by side with Lily or Sam and even have one person walk both her and another dog without a problem.
I have also noticed that Reyna has started defaulting to avoidance instead of reacting when she is uncomfortable. If I am walking her with the stroller (which I almost always am) and another dog runs out, barks, leaves their yard to follow us, Reyna will actually switch to the other side of stroller all on her own. I have been cueing this behavior for a long time (dog runs out barking - I make a gap between myself and the stroller and cue "other side" and she will duck between the gap to the other side putting the stroller between herself and the trigger) but now she has started to offer it at times when she would have reacted before!!!
Proof that even during training breaks learning still happens :)
For her agility training I have just been piddling around with it on the weekends, but she is still doing well. The 2x2 weave poles I made have been great, but as Reyna gets more confident I need to stake them down because they shift easily when she bumps them and they require constant resetting (as you'll see in the video).
We are up to 6 straight poles, just solidifying entries from all points on the arch and starting to introduce new locations...the left side of the back yard instead of the right, going towards the house instead of away, and even the front yard!! GASP!!!
If I have time next week I may even take the poles to the park and start over out there to see how she does. The poles have really worked well for me, especially for $19 for the whole set. I think my next purchase will be twelve stakes with a spacing ribbon, since it will take up a lot less space than an actual twelve pole set, or even a 6 pole set on a base.
Reyna is also jumping full height now, she has only been there for a couple days, so you will see her clip the jump a couple times, but no bars down and no tail thwapping the stanchions!
I'm not really sure where to go from here with the jumping...I guess it's time to actually purchase the Developing Jumping Skills book...I think we've gone as far as we can on our own without risk of messing her up.
So here it is in all it's unedited glory...
That's all for now...one of these I will get back to work on our levels...don't want any backsliding that's for sure!


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PLATTSBURGH - The town of Plattsburgh is sponsoring a trip to the Champlain Valley Fair in Essex Junction, Vt., Wednesday, Sept. 1.
The day program will be open first to any town of Plattsburgh senior citizen and then to all other senior citizens in Clinton County if space is available.
The town will provide a school bus for transportation with each senior responsible for paying $15. The price includes admission to the fair and cost of the ferry ride. The bus will leave the parking lot of Champlain Centre, 60 Smithfield Blvd., in front of Sears at 11 a.m. The group will leave the fair at 7 p.m. and return to Plattsburgh.
Pre-registration and pre-payment are mandatory before Friday, Aug. 20, and may be arranged by calling 562-6860 between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. Seats will be filled on a first come, first served basis


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The Moose expresses his deep appreciation to the conservative movement for sticking by their Bug Man.
The Moose was concerned that the right might be abandoning the House Majority Leader at his moment of peril. According to the Washington Post, however, the conservative movement is not only supporting DeLay, but they are putting their credibility on the line in his defense.
The big wigs of the right are implementing their fearless stance for the symbol of their movement - Tom DeLay,
"The meeting was organized by Perkins; Edwin J. Feulner, president of the Heritage Foundation; and David A. Keene, chairman of the American Conservative Union. Keene said he told the attendees: "If we are a serious movement, we cannot allow one of our own to be attacked."
"Keene said the leaders will show their solidarity by announcing this week that they are holding a tribute dinner for DeLay on May 12 at the Capital Hilton, complete with a film "summation of what Tom has done for conservatives." Keene said 1,000 people are expected, and tickets will be about $200."
Unfortunately for these stalwart right wingers, they might have waited to read the new issue of Newsweek before they mounted their defense. Apparently, Jack Abramoff may soon be singing to the feds about the Bug Man,
"Everybody is lying," Abramoff told a former colleague. There are e-mails and records that will implicate others, he said. He was noticeably caustic about House Majority Leader Tom DeLay. For years, nobody on Washington's K Street corridor was closer to DeLay than Abramoff. They were an unlikely duo. DeLay, a conservative Christian, and Abramoff, an Orthodox Jew, traveled the world together and golfed the finest courses. Abramoff raised hundreds of thousands for DeLay's political causes and hired DeLay's aides, or kicked them business, when they left his employ. But now DeLay, too, has problems -in part because of overseas trips allegedly paid for by Abramoff's clients. In response, DeLay and his aides have said repeatedly they were unaware of Abramoff's behind-the-scenes financing role. "Those S.O.B.s," Abramoff said last week about DeLay and his staffers, according to his luncheon companion. "DeLay knew everything. He knew all the details."
This is a clarifying moment. By identifying with DeLay, the right is telegraphing to the world that their once proud movement based on principle is now identified with a corrupt political establishment whose overriding objective is to hold onto power at all cost.
Thanks again, former comrades. --


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Boys' magic swim trunk
Product Details
Once these swim trunks hit the water, a hidden shark pattern will appear. Kinda like magic, no?
- Nylon.
- Elastic waistband with tacked functional drawstring.
- Back patch pocket with button closure.
- Mesh lined.
- Machine wash.
- After multiple washes, the pattern may not show up as well on the fabric.
- Import.
- Item G3877.


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Isn't it the cutest little thing?!? I just love it! I used the Springtime Vintage paper from the Occasions Mini to decorate it along with some Rose Red Seam Binding Ribbon and a Key Trinket and the 2 step Bird Punch. Wouldn't this make a magnificent Mother's Day or Graduation gift?
We will be making this project at my next class on April 10th at 1:30. If you'd like to join us, let me know. You can call or email me for more information. Until next time, remember if I can stamp, you can, too! If you don't believe me, come to the next class! :)
My class has moved to a new date. It will be Sunday afternoon April 17th at 1:30. If you'd like to attend, please give me a call or drop me an email and I'll send you the address and directions.


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Spurs look for positives after controversial draw with Lazio
Tottenham manager Andre Villas-Boas is still looking for his first win at White Hart Lane after a night of frustration playing against Lazio, but said he couldn't have asked more of his players.
Spurs put the ball in the net on three occasions but each time the effort was not allowed to stand, as the Europa League opener finished goalless.
But the Portuguese boss refused to be downbeat, as he lavished praise on his players' work ethic.
'I think we did enough to get the win today. I am extremely happy with the performance and the effort that the players put in,' said Villas-Boas, who won the competition with Porto two seasons ago.
'You can't reprimand them for anything, they were outstanding, they managed to create enough opportunities to win the game.'The team put the ball in the back of the net three times, but all the goals were disallowed by the ref, so it's a bit disappointing.'Clint Dempsey was controversially ruled offside in the first half when he tucked away a lovely cross from Gareth Bale, who was then rightly judged to have strayed behind the Lazio defence before setting up a Jermain Defoe tap-in.
Steven Caulker then headed in, only to be harshly pulled up for pushing a defender.
But the Londoners enjoyed a slice of luck when Alvaro Gonzalez beat debutant goalkeeper Hugo Lloris with a dipping volley from just outside the area, only to see his effort strike the bar.
'It shows that we are on the right track to giving something back to the fans,' added Villas-Boas. 'We were superior against a team that is doing extremely well. We can be happy with that performance.'


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Bessie had always been a good girl. Keep yourself neat" her grandmother had always said...
But lately, she had been yearning for adventure. She just wasn't ready to settle down with Jack Jr of Brampstons Furniture Emporium and he had been calling on her rather a lot lately. She dreamt of exotic places and the stories they held. Her passbook account held enough for a ticket and lodgings, and so with a feeling of determination which was becoming increasingly familiar, Bessie booked her one way ticket on the oceanliner 'Strathaird', departing Circular Quay for England, June 11 1948.
Her voyage of discovery was just beginning ......
that is her journey and this is what I created in Bessie's book....hope you like it! more to come soon!
So this weekend was full of creativity as I spent all of Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning at Freestyle Downunder. It was awesome!!!!
It was great to meet Rhonna and she is so sweet and petite and full of energy. I loved her American Accent and her enthusiasm 'You're all doing great!! Awesome!! ' she chirped....her paper designs are beautiful!
The class 'Art Attack' was so much fun but pretty full on and I kept lagging behind …they should have named it Heart Attack…haha!
Im so use to crafting at such a slow leisurely pace, no wonder I never find time to make stuff for my non-existent Etsy shop!
You can see the mini journal I made in Rhonna's class below. Lovely!!
I'll show you what I made in Emily's class after I finish it. I got home and wasn't happy with the colours I chose so I took everything off the canvas, re-painted it in white gesso and will start again!
On the way home I stopped at to the
Vintage Fair not far from my house…Ohhh I felt so bad as I hadn't seen the boys all morning (mother guilt!!) so I quickly ran around the stands, spotted so many treasures…lovely fabrics, vintage coats, silk scarfs and some lady like leather T-bar shoes from the 40's ….so nice! I just couldn't fork out $120 for 60year old shoes…ohhh they were beautiful!!
Things weren't cheap but I did find a large Burda pattern book from 1963, the ones that you'd find in the Harbedashary stores – so many vintage illustrations of woman's clothing, bridal and cute kid images too! Its so thick 1000 pages for $25! When I get some spare time (yoohoo spare time where are you??) I'll add some images to my flickr and to the collage image group for all to share. I also bought a small bag full of lacey trims and scrap ribbons …nice!!


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Irate Trump signs bill imposing new sanctions against Russia
The legislation — which also includes measures against North Korea and Iran — targets the Russian energy sector
Washington — US President Donald Trump reluctantly signed off on new sanctions against Russia Wednesday, bowing to domestic pressure and putting efforts to improve ties with the Kremlin in peril.
Trump signed the legislation behind closed doors, after failed White House efforts to scupper or water down the bill.
Trump's reluctance was on full display in an angry signing statement, in which he called the legislation "significantly flawed." "In its haste to pass this legislation, the Congress included a number of clearly unconstitutional provisions," he said, including curbs on the president's ability to "negotiate" with Russia.
"I built a truly great company worth many billions of dollars. That is a big part of the reason I was elected. As president, I can make far better deals with foreign countries than Congress," Trump claimed.
The legislation — which also includes measures against North Korea and Iran — targets the Russian energy sector, giving Washington the ability to sanction companies involved in developing Russian pipelines, and placing curbs on some Russian weapons exporters.
It also notably constrains Trump's ability to waive the penalties, a statement of mistrust from the Republican-controlled Congress, which remains unsettled by Trump's warm words for President Vladimir Putin.
The sanctions seek to penalise the Kremlin for meddling in the 2016 US presidential election — which Trump won — and Russia's annexation of Crimea.
Trump said he would "honour" some of the bill's provisions, but stopped short of saying it would be fully implemented.
The White House said only that Trump would give Congress's "preferences" mere "careful and respectful consideration".
"I am signing this bill for the sake of national unity. It represents the will of the American people to see Russia take steps to improve relations with the US."
Trump received the legislation at 1:53pm on Friday and waited until Wednesday to sign it. The nearly week-long delay in signing had raised speculation that Trump might veto or try to somehow shelve the sanctions, which were approved in a 98-2 Senate vote.
By signing it, he avoided the humiliating prospect of Congress overriding his veto. Expecting the signature, Moscow preemptively ordered Washington to reduce its diplomatic presence in Russia to 455 persons before September 1 — bringing it in line with the size of Russia's mission in the US.
US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said Tuesday he would meet with his Russian opposite Sergei Lavrov over the weekend, but warned US-Russia ties could still get worse.
"The question, I think, of the events of the last week or so, is it getting worse or can we maintain some level of stability in that relationship?" Tillerson asked.
Tillerson said the US Congress's decision to pass the sanctions bill had made attempts to thaw ties "more difficult".
The Kremlin said Wednesday that Trump signing the sanctions "doesn't change anything" as Moscow has already hit back.
A special prosecutor is investigating whether Trump advisers colluded with what US intelligence has concluded was an attempt by Russia to covertly support his 2016 campaign.
The US president, who often called for warmer ties with Moscow during the White House race, has furiously denied the charge, which has further clouded relations.


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I love audio books. I can NOT tell you how good audio books are for us. For all that time spent in the car each week, instead of the pop music, we go educational.
Johnny Tremain We watched the movie last week, now listening to the book in the car. I wondered if this wouldn't be a bit redundant, but oh no! The book is rich with wonderful details and character development not found in the movie. We are all enjoying reliving the story in this format, often stopping to talk about things like... wonderful detail and character development. ;) "A story of the turbulent, passionate times in Boston just before the Revolutionary War. Johnny, a young apprentice silversmith, is caught with Otis, Hancock, and John and Samuel Adams in the exciting operations and subterfuges leading up to the Boston Tea Party and the Battle of Lexington. As Johnny is forced into the role of a full-grown man in the face of his new country's independence, he finds that his relations with those he loves changes for the better as well."
Living Language - Spanish Started this as an in-car supplement to our in-home classes (2xs/week). I secretly love it when we are all repeating words and phrases together in the car. Highlight - 5yo: "Oh, mom. Did you hear that one? I just did a really good 'Buenas noches'."
9:30 – 3:00 Homeschool in the Forest
"Played games with older kids, saw a huge buck, learned about the cooling properties of Madrone trees and laid on top of them."
A typical sight at pick-up - circle time, where everyone is giving thanks for their day. Makes me happy!
Tiny Buns sports his new shirt - a gift from his sister and grandma and their trip to DC. Perfect for him and for current block on the American Revolution.
5:00 Time for the 10yo to make another journal entry about his Monday experience in the forest. Today's assignment begins with me writing in his journal "Homeschool in the Forest is..." and I tell him he has to give me ten descriptive lines from there. I tell him to highlight his favorite memories/experiences and to craft them with as much detail as possible. I tell him to play it out like bullet points, but that the goal is poetry. I give him a couple examples, but nothing that he can really copy. He gets excited as he feeds me ideas. I love them and show excitement in return. He's off and away saying he wants all his weekly writing assignments to be like this. The final product:
"Homeschool in the Forest is:
Playing games in the noon day sun,
Damming up a steam in the fog,
It's starting a fire with nothing but sticks,
taking turns playing mask on a crisp morning.
Leaves crackling underfoot,
Catching fish in an untouched stream,
It's catching frogs in muddy puddles,
And making acorn brownies in late summer.
It's lifting logs in search of king snakes,
And coming home drenched in sweat.
Of course we ooh and awe over him. This coming from a boy who used to beg me - "Please don't make me put pen to paper!" He hates to write...except when it's meaningful. So the trick has been to find those opportunities and to jump on them. This exercise worked doubly well for him because he basically got to put his thoughts down in bullet points - and man-o-man, does this kid love his bullet points! Daddy talks with him about the beauty of poetry, how it "has the economy of words" and how in poetry "you aren't bound by the rules of grammar".
Then it's time for dinner and I need the table set. Daddy turns it into a game relating to American history. He picks a leader, talks about strong leadership skills, warns of a rebellion, praises the battle won. The kids assume their roles wholeheartedly to the point that when the 10yo tried to help the 5yo, Tiny Buns shouted: "You can't help me, you're my leader. I'm do all the work around here!"
9:00 - 10:30 Drawing Out Arithmetic ("Playing with the ancient tools of compass and straight edge, children will discover the skills and methods employed by the Ancient Greeks to uncover enduring mathematical truths"). Incredibly enthusiastic teacher, Daniel, developed this class all on his own with the goal of getting kids to touch math and to have a physical relationship with it. I've never seen anything like this and when you see it in action it is super cool! D says this week: "We explored similar triangles. We took a yard long dowel and found the place where the top of the dowel matches the top of the tree from the ground. The distance from the eye to the dowel was also one yard making an isosceles right triangle. We measured the distance from the rod to the base of the tree. Since it was 25 yards and the triangle was isosceles, we determined the tree is about 75 feet tall. Back at the bat cave, I asked each student to draw a representation of our activity. They all did a great job! Finally, we constructed a more perfect model of the tree measuring activity with compass and straightedge. I introduced the term hypotenuse and showed them a teaser of how to calculate it's length."
10:30 - 12:00 Language Arts From the instructor: 10yo "worked on a keyword outline for ancient Greece. 7yo girls read the fable on page 36 in the book and wrote their own keyword outlines on page 37. Then we all added in colorful verbs, excellent adjectives, and LY adverbs to the keyword outlines. They each verbally retold the fable/Greek paragraph to the class adding in their extra words (using only their keyword outlines). I gave them some tips to improve (example to use more interesting words in place of boring banned words such as good or bad. We played an active adverb game at the end."
12:00 - 2:00 Free play art class! Everyone's favorite time of the week. The 10yo begins on a pair a leather moccasins for himself (G. guides him through the basics: pattern making, stitching, etc.). Beanie does mossaic work.
1:00 - 4:00 PreK for Tiny Buns
2:15 - 3:15 10yo goes into his music class, still focusing on guitar and drums. Beanie and I walk down to a cafe to take turns reading from an easy reader adaptation of Les Miserables. I love these super-duper abridged versions of classics. They give the perfect amount for her, and just about enough for me. They allow us to get the foundation for one story while working on reading skills, allowing us more time to hit other related topics or activities.
We were both thrilled to finally get to the part that takes place underground in the sewer system of Paris! We learned about this while we toured that exact place in March, and it's actually the entire reason I reached for the story to read together.
Now the 10yo is sick. Such a bummer. The rest of us are finally on the mend and he's the last one to go down. I need to get him in a better mood than the one he wakes in. I make him tea, prop him up on the couch. He asks me to read to him, suggesting National Geographic. He pics the cover story on sugar.
You know I love reading to my kids. There is just this magical thing that happens when I read out loud to them. No matter what I'm reading, they listen. There we all were in the family room this morning, drinking our coffee and teas, wrapped in blankets and spread-out all over the floor. Even Tiny Buns, forever the engineer, sat building something out of paper clips and rubber bands, listening to me read about the history of sugar, injecting his commentary here and there. It bought us to the map several times, locating the hot spots in the world where sugar can grows best, had us doing math in our head to calculate daily recommended quantities in comparison to those amounts found in soda and candy and even had us touching on the history of world exploration and colonization. All this before toast! ;)
10:00 - 11:00 Spanish Tutor
Today's lesson was just the little kids, myself and the mestro. Because we didn't meet last week, we focused on review and went into colors. We finished with a reading of one of our favorite books, but in Spanish - Si Le Das Un Pastelito A Un Gato (If You Give A Cat A Cupcake).
Teaching children a language is tricky. We are still a bit all over the place and conjegating verbs is nowhere in our near future. Dare I say...we might all benefit from just using some worksheets. :-/
11:45 - 12:45 Beanie goes to science class hosted at a friend's house (sick 10yo runs errands with me). Note from instructor:
"Class Update
1:00 - 2:00 Poetry for 7yo
1:00 - 4:00 PreK for Tiny Buns
3:00 - 5:00 Beanie bakes a flour-less chocolate cake with her grandma. They bring it home to our house and my mom, myself and the two big kids head out to dinner and a one-time showing of the documentary ON THE WAY TO SCHOOL. Grab a box of Kleenex, watch the trailer, and know that the movie did not disappoint.
9:30 – 3:00 Homeschool 4-wheel drive - the 10yo's second day a week in nature. Run by the same organization as Monday's class, this group happens have only boys enrolled at this time, which I love. It's great to see them just go off a wild adventure with a great male leader. This week's report: (not yet received)
10:25 - 11:05 PeeWee Soccer
1:00 - 4:00 Tiny Buns PreK
1:15 - 2:15 Beanie does French
3:00 Pick-up 10yo, 3:15 Drop 7yo at soccer, 4:00 pick-up Tiny Buns, 4:15 Pick-up Beanie, 5:00 10yo makes journal entry about day in nature.
Spanish lesson is canceled so we can host Tiny Buns' 5th birthday party! Almost one month after his real bday, we eek our an early morning party for the boys in his preK class. I swear that this will be the last party I ever throw. ;-)
1:00 - 4:00 Tiny Buns PreK
1:30 The big kids and I start watching America: The Story of Us. I watched this series last year with the then 9yo, and it's honestly worth re-watching every year. Still heavy at parts for the 7yo, so I sheilded her eyes and ears multiple times.
We snuggled on the couch, Satuday morning and read a small stack of books from the library. The best one was The Adventures of Mark Twain By Huckleberry Finn, beautifully told and illustrated!
We are LOVING one of the vintage games I picked up on Etsy last week. QUINTO is similar to SCRABBLE, just with numbers. It's a great one with kids still strengthening their math skills. Tiny Buns is ALL sorts of motivated to learn addition.
On Saturday we begin the paper mache component of our Halloween float. More to come on this.
I'll close with the above photo because I just love what it represents - child directed learning. I had been outside for a long while, working on our Halloween float, when I came inside to find Tiny Buns creating this marble ramp, and testing the marble's force on a variety of wooden blocks and figures. Who knows what was going through his mind but he kept trying new things with its construction, and with the objects he was looking to hit. When I see my kids in these moment, long and thoughtful, I'm so grateful because I know they wouldn't necessarily have these if they were in school. Like I always say:
Do not overestimate the education a child gets in school, and do not underestimate the education you give your kids at home!


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And no one has more secrets than our four girls: Aria (Lucy Hale), Hanna (Ashley Benson), Emily (Shay Mitchell) and Spencer (Troian Bellisario). But now, it seems that Spence is keeping a major secret from her best friends, at least on the next episode, "Out of the Frying Pan, Into the Inferno."
In a new clip of the episode, Spencer is more than preoccupied about the disastrous events of her anniversary with Toby while Aria and Hanna discuss the secrets Aria and Caleb (Tyler Blackburn) are keeping from their significant others.
When the girls ask if Toby (Keegan Allen) was surprised, all Spencer can offer is, "Yes, there was a big surprise." Though she pretends to be OK, it's obvious she is not and by the end of the clip Hanna and Aria know that something is up.
Talking about the scene, Bellisario called it, "Funny to shoot."
She joked, "I was going through a pleasant stroll through that scene."
Watch the entire clip including the behind the scenes take from Bellisario above.
Pretty Little Liars airs Tuesdays at 8 PM on ABC Family.
Do you think Spence will confess to her friends about Toby on "Out of the Frying Pan, Into the Inferno?" How about Aria – will she finally tell Ezra about his son? Let us know want to happen in the comments below!
No changes are to be made to this player


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wordy thursday
10 comments:
Daryl, love this photo! It is a very nice shot of you!ReplyDelete
What a beautiful photo lovely lady! Love ut!ReplyDelete
hey great photo, pretty girl, and, when you publish the book of all those photographs, this can be the last one! Moving's a drag. R's sister just moved and we helped her organise a lot of her office and helped her make lists and lists aaand lists to organise and smooth out the transition. It really helped her move in to the new place quickly and reestablish her business. Good luck with it all. Off to check out episodes now because there is nothing at all to watch!ReplyDelete
Such a good portrait shot!ReplyDelete
Hey, Pretty Lady!!ReplyDelete
This photograph of you is absolutely wonderful.
Love it!! xo.
A bit of a control freak, eh?ReplyDelete
Wonderful photo of you. You look beeyouteefull.
Beautiful photo! Beautiful you!ReplyDelete
Did you take this with a timer?
Great photo!! Great shot! Very lovely lady!! You probably didn't even get any funny looks sitting in the sidewalk- it being NYC and all !!ReplyDelete
Love his packing job......really........
Lovely lady! And that's a lot of boxes!ReplyDelete
Tell the boss: Good luck with that boxing and moving each one twice.ReplyDelete
LOVE that photo of you. It's absolutely fantastic.
Google Blogger is now insisting i switch to Google+ in order to see/reply to your comments via email .. i am not joining G+
SO if you would like to send your comment via email fashionistanyc gmail and i will reply
if not, consider yourself thanked for leaving a comment


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by shamanic
You thought Ron Paul has excessively passionate fans? Oh, just wait! Stephen Colbert jumped into the race last night, and I'm sure that the Colbert Nation fanboys are up to their eyeballs in Technorati searches this afternoon.
The biggest difference between the Paul and Colbert evangelists? Colbert's fans know their guy's candidacy is a joke. Oh, ouch! I'll be here all week, ladies and germs. Try the veal!


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Wednesday, July 22, 2009
What Difference Does Having An Interracial Roommate Make?
However, interracial roommates were also more likely to break up. Why? Sometimes the differences (i.e. music, friends of friends) are so vast as to be irreconcilable. Of course, roommates of the same race break up often too, so it's hard to say. One thing researchers safely agree on is that it is these instances of living together where efforts at diversifying college campuses really make a difference. In class, whites cluster with whites, blacks with blacks and so on. But, one-on-one in the dorm room? Adapt and acclimate or fight and become embittered.
1 comment:
- The Angry Independent said...
No roommates of a different race... (simply because i'm not a roommate kind of guy... such an arrangement just wouldn't work out for me).
The closest I came to that was Summer Camp, and Sports leagues as a kid (which required travel and sleepovers, etc). Those experiences weren't long enough to really tell if I gained any new perspectives.
But most of my classmates in my Texas High School (my last 2 years) were White & Hispanic... and from that experience, I did learn more about not judging too soon.
When I moved from the urban blight of St. Louis to suburban/rural Kansas in the early-mid 80's, it was a culture shock for me. But it turns out... I felt more welcomed by the White kids. They went out of their way to welcome me. I got more trouble from the Black students than from the White students. Although I ended up gravitating more towards the Black students for friendship... because that's just how things were.
But those experiences left a lasting impression.


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Hi guys!! Since summer has officially begun, today's card is a summery birthday card. In this card I used a several elements and techniques that I totally loved using together, including using Glossy Accents over Wink of Stella and coloring with Distress Ink over a Dry Embossed area. Also, all these elements add a lot of dimension to the card without the need of any kind of foam tape. For this reason, I will submit this card to the Wednesday Challenge from Simon Says Stamp. I hope you enjoy the tutorial as much as I enjoyed making this card! :)
*Disclaimer: This post includes affiliate links. For more details, please visit my disclaimer page.


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Tuesday, August 4, 2015
West Ham Utd v. Astra Giurgiu (Romania) EUFA Europa League
10 comments:
You have to wonder what's got into them. So, I guess, that's at least 2 of them suspended from the away leg. It'll be even tougher with that handicap. Is this the end of the summer holidays ? Ah well the real stuff starts in a few days.ReplyDelete
Ginge's 2 yellows in less than 5 minutes certainly caused some damage Filthy. We were looking pretty well "situated" up till then. Our players lack of meaningful European experience is certainly showing, but I'd still like to see us lick Astra and move into the next round. Strikes me the only way to get it is to play !ReplyDelete
And it was all going so well too!!ReplyDelete
I still think the experience of Europe, some for real pre season games and playing time for the kids and possible look see to recreate Miaga, Zarate and possibly Jarvis with a clean slate has been worth it. Losing Enner when he could have come into his own with more support and a better plan may be costly but spilled milk now.
Not sure we can go a lot further in this and I'm not sure we should. I think we can take them away, all depends if Super Slav puts up a real team or just treats it as a kids experience match. We shall see.
My feeling on injuries Smitty, is that they will happen and not playing as a way to prevent them is counter productive. Not sure if I'm on my own ., but I'll sacrifice a few League places for a Cup run of any kind - if we come 13th/14th instead of 10th/11th and we've had some excitement - well that's alright by me.ReplyDelete
As for Jarvis and Maiga - I'd flog them both - easier said than done with Meager !
On the injuries I agree up to a point, these early Euro games seem to be Sunday league brawls so the chances are high. You shouldn't be afraid to go in there but it's a shame it was up front. Personally I also like a bit of a cup run, but from what little I've seen of this Euro stuff, League or FA looks a lot more fun.ReplyDelete
You've got to wade through this bit of the Europa to get to the proper football Smitty. Noble and Tomka getting wound up by such small fry, just shows how far they have to come and I don't see not being in Europe regular as an option once were settled in the Olympic - time to get with the programme - I'm sure the Super Slav agrees.ReplyDelete
I agree that the Europa can be fun and would be worth a good run. So far it has been C list teams (which is a bit worrying since none of the games have been that comfortable)ReplyDelete
I would hope that things settle down into the proper squad from now on and they could have some good games against the B list teams. Better places to visit as well.
yup, Valencia is a blow. Saw that they were looking to buy a replacement....
I think what the Brady Bunch do or do not decide to spend will say a lot about where they're at Filthy. AC hasn't played 30 games in 2 seasons, Valencia's banged up, Carlton's gone and Modibo Meager is a dead loss - that leaves Sakho and Lee as far as I can see. GET CHARLIE AUSTIN !!!!ReplyDelete
Charlie Austin would fit. Talking of fit, AC seems to be on his way back. Working on his own and with the u21s. Can't see him starting for a few weeks yet, then, what, a month of games and then out again?ReplyDelete
Looks like its going to be kids and old lags for Romania tonight Filthy. I'm hoping that Elliot Lee will impress and grab a couple and maybe Jenko will get a run out as he can't play The Gooners Sunday anyway. Come On You Irons.ReplyDelete


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October 10, 2013, Urban Core Happy Hour - DANA
Downtown Austin Neighborhood Association
Thursday, October 10, 2013 from 6:30 PM to 8:30 PM (CDT)
Event Details
Thursday, October 10, 2013 - 6:30pm-8:30pm
Location / Sponsor: Brass House, 115 San Jacinto Blvd, 78701 map | transit
Brass House Austin was conceived by Jason White while operating in a combat zone with the United States Marine Corps. He dreamed of moving to Austin and opening a live music venue at the completion of his service with the hope of providing a relaxed and enjoyable environment for those who enjoy the sounds of jazz and blues. Brass House is the realization of that dream. Jason believes strongly in community involvement and support and welcomes any and all local charities if they wish to host events in our space. We look forward to offering support and discounts to our active duty and retired military customers.
Urban Core Happy Hour Format - PLEASE READ!
DANA Urban Core Happy Hours are open to all that have an interest in Downtown Austin. Please note, however, that at Urban Core Happy Hours DANA Members get in free, and non-members will be asked to pay $10. Entry into event includes food and drink tickets (until we run out!). Due to the popularity of these events, we cannot make any exceptions on entry.
We encourage RSVP'ing to the event so that we may have as accurate of a headcount as possible, but please note that if you are a non-member who has RSVP'd - you will still have to pay the entry fee to the event. If you have a question regarding the status of your membership, please email firstname.lastname@example.com.
If you're not a DANA Member and would like to be, you can sign up at the Urban Core Happy Hour, or you can click here to be directed to our Membership page to join now. Membership includes free entry to Urban Core Happy Hours for one year after your sign up date!
When & Where
Brass House
115 San Jacinto Boulevard
Thursday, October 10, 2013 from 6:30 PM to 8:30 PM (CDT)
Add to my calendar


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She said, "YES!"
One helluva proposal. With over 11 million views on youtube, it seems as though every one is swooning. Congratulations to Amy and Issac! Bravo to Issac and friends for pulling off one of the best proposals ever. Amy and Issac are both actors in the Portland area and live to entertain others. It was only fitting that Issac would give Amy the world's most heartwarming "show" and entertain her before he pops the question. He wanted to dazzle her, and dazzle her he did.
Speaking of dazzling, I'm leading "Team Sparkle" this Sunday in Manhattan's Great Strides Walk for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. I'm passionate about fighting CF and helping find a cure for this degenerative disease that affects my best friends and tens of thousands around the world. Today, one of blogging's best and my dear friend, Erika of Small Shop Studio, is talking about my fight and why I need your help. Please take a moment to read her post about a cause near and dear to my heart.
Happy Friday. Sparkle on!


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Maybe I should rethink getting the fondue forks sooner rather than later. Last night we had fondue again, and I skewered the bajeebers out of my left middle finger.
I mean, it's supposed to go through meat; why wouldn't it go through your finger? Fortunately my bone was in the way, which stopped the skewer.
I'm glad you all weren't here, or you'd have found out how extremely colorful my language can get.
Saturday, December 18, 2010
5 comments:
- Miriam said...
Ouch - that hurts!
And I would have enjoyed hearing your colourful language!
- December 18, 2010 at 3:14 PM
- Jennifer Montero said...
I hope the fondue was good at least.
You reminded me about fondue, and it inspired us to have it for dinner the other night. We haven't got a fondue pot but I put it in a pan on the wood stove and it came out alright. Melted cheese is just heavenly.
- December 19, 2010 at 2:56 AM
- Dani said...
I've done that too - and the hook thingy is a b*tch to remove from human flesh...
Why does it slide into flesh easier than when it comes out?
- December 19, 2010 at 9:20 PM
- Toni aka irishlas said...
Colorful language makes a more interesting life! ;-)
- December 20, 2010 at 7:01 PM
Gosh, I hope you've recovered...No new posts. Merry christmas, anyway!
- December 26, 2010 at 12:08 PM
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Continuing my 'recycling' of past blogs which I think are worth repeating, here's another 'A' blog from my archives.
In three of the six books I've had published since 2011, my
heroines have been actresses. In His Leading Lady Jess is a talented
amateur actress who takes the opportunity to replace her sister on the
professional stage in London. In Fragrance of Violets, Abbey has had
a successful acting career but loses confidence after she fails to win a
coveted role. My most recent release, Irish Inheritance, has a struggling
actress, Jenna, who has given herself five years to discover whether she is
good enough to make acting her lifetime career.
Why do I choose to have actresses as my heroines? I've never
been an actress, apart from a few small roles in amateur plays when I was
younger. I soon realised I wasn't very good, and I can't sing or dance either.
The first answer to the question is that I've been
stage-struck for almost as long as I can remember. My mother used to take me
sometimes to plays performed by the local repertory company. I still remembered
being enthralled by a production of Jane
Eyre when I was about ten. A couple of years later it was a school
production of The Importance of Being
Earnest that caught my imagination, and soon after this, a local amateur
group introduced me to musical theatre, which I have loved ever since I first
saw Oklahoma on the stage.
Fast forward about 20 years, and we come to my second
answer. In the 1980s, when
my daughters were in their early teens, I was the leader of a Girl Guide
Company, and we decided to 'put on a show', namely 'The Wizard of Oz'. That was
the beginning of about 15 years of producing musical shows, first with the Girl
Guides, and then with the junior section of the local Musical Theatre Group.
Maybe I couldn't act, sing or dance myself, but this was the next best thing. I
was privileged to work with a lot of talented teenagers, and to see them
develop from shy chorus members to confident youngsters who took the lead roles
with self-assurance and amazing stage presence. Indeed, some of them went on to
drama school and then the professional stage.
I also worked backstage with two musical theatre groups for
several years, doing costumes, props, or as a stage hand. I know first-hand
that there is no experience in the world like 'show week' at the theatre, with
combination of panic, nerves, adrenalin, laughter, camaraderie, and the sheer
satisfaction at the end of each evening.
Maybe this goes in part to explain why my heroines are
actresses. It could be a subconscious yearning on my part, a wish that I'd had
a talent for acting. At the same time, the theatre is an environment with which
I am familiar (and even know some of the jargon!). Although I've worked with
amateur groups, I've been backstage at two major professional theatres. The
latter use far more high-tech stuff than the amateur theatre can afford but the
process of rehearsals, backstage preparations, and actual appearance onstage is
not much different from the amateur world.
Finally, from the purely practical angle of having actresses
in my novels, it's often useful to have a heroine who isn't doing a nine to
five job, as they can have periods when they're not working at all!
Monday, 15 September 2014
Do you have 'favourite' occupations for your heroes/heroines?
2 comments:
I love finding just the right occupation for my characters. It gives great psychological insight into them and it helps to make them more multi-dimensional.ReplyDeleteReplies
Oddly enough, my heroines' occupations seem to be already there with them as soon as I start thinking about a new story, but I sometimes have to find the right jobs for the heroes!Delete
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The Baltimore Municipal Golf Corp. is taking on still another new project.
The latest is a 36-hole two-man team competition, scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 29 and Sunday, Sept. 30 at Mount Pleasant.
In recent years, efforts by the BMGC guided the Maryland Stroke Play Championship into major area golf status. The event now is considered one of the section's top three tournaments of the year.
More of the same can be expected with the two-man team Fall Classic. While limiting the field to 60 teams the first year, Mount Pleasant professional Jim Deck reports a sellout is assured.


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What happens when you get a group of teenagers ask them to not eat for 30 hours and to top it off have them spend the last 3-4 hours of that working in a food bank? Serious damage to the local Golden Corral LOL. That's how 20+ members of our Youth Group spent Friday and Saturday.
30 hour Famine is a world wide movement that groups participate in to help bring awareness of hunger and what going without really feels like. While working at our county's food bank Miss Shirley shared different stories of families that have been helped. One particularly touched my heart. While working with a new family the volunteer offered the little boy a toy. He didn't answer her. She showed him the toys he could choose from and again he didn't respond. Wanting to be sure the little boy could have a toy she asked the mother if is was okay. The mother prompted the little boy to answer and he did: "If I take the toy will we still be allowed to get the food?" A 5yr old child was so aware of the meaning of hunger that he was afraid his decision could jeopardize his family a the food they desperately needed. I cannot comprehend that hunger like that is affecting families that are essentially my neighbors.One Day Without Shoes . Around the World there was over 1,000 different events held on college campuses as well as places of business. This event is sponsored by Tom's Shoes. While walking without shoes around your school or office doesn't seem all that challenging imagine walking miles everyday in Africa without carpeting or sidewalks barefoot. At Emily's school they had the kids walk through different ground coverings to get a true feel of what a shoeless day could feel like. While today it seems that every time you do a charitable activity there has to be a T-Shirt to accompany it. Instead of going out and having shirts made Tom's supplies stencils so everyone can make quick shirts on their own.
We've all seen homeless people. Have you thought about what they go through during the winter? Would you be willing to spend the night outside? I'm not talking about camping. I am talking about sleeping in a cardboard box. If it dropped to 20 degrees they don't get to give up and go inside. If it rains and their boxes collapse they don't get to run inside change clothes and restart fresh. Cardboard cities are popping up all over our country. Granted they may just be for 12 -24 hours but students of all ages are doing this so that instead of being just sympathetic but have just a little bit of empathy as well.
Growing up I just don't remember being so aware of the needs of the world around me. I did volunteer at The Lighthouse in Bay Shore. This was a training center for the Blind. I really enjoyed reading to them, helping them learn life skills or simply playing the guitar. I had friends who were candy stripers at Southside Hospital. Many of us were Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts and involved in our church groups working around our community. I just do not remember there being events. Well now there always the Jerry Lewis Labor Day Telethon that signaled the end of summer but beyond that I can't recall
I am awed by this current generation of kids and how quickly they will answer the call. Is it just a day without shoes or 30 hours without food, maybe. Do you really think they'll forget it??


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Well, I'm going to have to change this blog's policy of no graphics.
Ian Welsh has also responded to Bill from Bound by Gravity, on the issue of who is really responsible for eliminating Canada's federal deficit.
Ian put some charts together to illustrate the recent history of federal deficits in Canada. Unfortunately, I think they aren't the right charts for the question.
Showing a graph that illustrates the percentage change in debt in any given year doesn't create a fair comparison. For obvious reasons, it is biased against the earlier borrowers.
I would argue that graphs of net federal debt mislead in the same way, because changes when the debt is small can look much more significant than larger deficits do when added onto a large debt.
So, here's my graph. I took all the deficits and surpluses since 1961, and used the Bank of Canada inflation calculator to convert them to constant 2003 dollars. Here's the result:
What I think it shows, clearly, is that Pierre Trudeau's government built up the deficit, Brian Mulroney did very little to address it, and Jean Chretien's government was the one that took action and made the change.
Now, elsewhere, James Bow argues against free will, and suggests that external factors are mostly responsible for this development. I agree that external factors certainly play a role, but I think that personal decisions have also been very important. We only need to compare Canada and the United States' financial patterns in the past few years to see that.
POSTSCRIPT: Another follow-up from Ian Welsh.


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From the signs of a person's understanding of the Deen
بسم الله والحمد لله والصلاة والسلام على رسول الله ، وبعد
Abu Wail reported: `Ammaar Ibn Yaaser رضي الله عنه delivered to us the Khutbah (Friday sermon). It was short and eloquent. When he (`Ammaar) descended (from the pulpit) we said to him: O `Aba al-Yaqdhaan, you have delivered a short and eloquent sermon. Would that you had lengthened (the sermon). He said: I have heard the Messenger of Allaah ﷺ as saying:
❝The lengthening of prayer by a man and the shortness of the sermon is the sign of his understanding (of faith). So lengthen the prayer and shorten the sermon, for there is charm (in precise) expression.❞
📚 [ Saheeh Muslim ]


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Is there a reason, financial or strategic, that the Yankees suddenly have decided that 2010's payroll must be lower than 2009's? If so, I'd like to hear it. Was it the hardship of collecting only $2,000 for all those $2,500 Legends Suite tickets during 2009 regular? Was it the sacrifice born of selling out only eight games en route to winning a World Series instead of the maximum eleven? Was it the miscalculation in estimating the "Inaugural Season's" concession and souvenir sales which resulted in a realized total that only exceeding the projected amount by 200%? Or maybe it was the forbearance they exercised by forswearing the price increases $5,000-a-seat to $50,000-a-seat ticket licenses authorized? Or is the explanation simpler still? Does Prince Hal regard caprice the hallmark of power and the laurels of victory permanent extenuation?
If the rationale isn't evident, the consequence certainly is. To save a few extra million dollars in payroll, the Yankees risk forgoing the windfall each additional post-season game they play would yield them. See The Business of Baseball In the aggregate, they may have saved themselves nothing at all.
Meanwhile, for about $8-10 million dollars in one year contracts, the Yankees could have added three additional players that would have dramatically improved their chances of returning to the World Series. A $7-8 million dollar allotment for Damon would have dramatically improved their lineup. While for $2 to 4 million (four if a tendered contract, less if merely a guaranteed one), the Yankees could have re-signed Chien Ming Wang and bolstered the depth of their rotation. (This is to say nothing of the $1 million dollars by which the Yankees could have lengthened their bench by offering Eric Hinske the amount he accepted from the Braves.)
Indeed, for all the near unanimous approbation that has greeted Brian Cashman's personnel decision this off-season, few have examined their financial wisdom given the new payroll constraints. Has the GM made the most efficient use of the off-season budget allocated him? Because from this perspective, the Yankees front-office's decisions suggests a far more equivocal judgment than the received wisdom would imply.
Let us not begin however by stinting praise where it's so clearly deserved.
Cashman's acquisition of Curtis Granderson belongs alongside his trades for Abreu, A-Rod, and Justice as among the Yankee GM's most adroit and inspired. In one fell swoop, he upgraded his team at center-field, procured another premiere offensive player under 30 (adding to last season's Teixeira signing) to achieve his goal of a younger lineup, saved money to allocate elsewhere by replacing one of two $13 million salary slots (Matsui and Damon) with Granderson's $8 million-dollar-a-year contract, and filled a cornerstone position with a player combining the rare gifts of power and speed and possessing, as such, the potential to develop into a deserving heir of Bernie Willliams' mantle.
Of course, the full cost of what the Yankees relinquished, in the bargain, won't materialize for some time. Furthermore, the Tigers GM Dombrowski, arguably, has reaped the greater dividends in every trade he and Cashman have struck since 1998: (i) the Mike Lowell trade (1998); (ii) the 3-way Jeff Weaver transaction which netted the Tigers Jeremy Bonderman (2002); and (iii) the disposing of Sheffield.
Qualifications, aside, as of January 2010, Granderson more than merits his cost. The Yankees yielded (i) Phil Coke-- an endearing if erratic left-handed relief pitcher who posted league average statistics in his first full major league season; (ii) Ian Kennedy—a prospect victimized by the early success he, never again, could match and limited opportunities to rebound-- and (iii) Austin Jackson—the position player with the highest ranking in the Yankees farm system but still probably years away from fully ripening.
Perhaps, the only reason why Cashman could obtain Granderson without greater sacrifice is because the center-fielder's anomalous 2009 tarnished his value. By most indicia, Granderson's 2009 was a subpar season. Despite hitting 30 homeruns in 2009, the ex-Tigers' batting average and on-base percentage fell about 30 points from 2008; his strikeouts per plate appearance rose by 2.0%; and his OPS+ dropped to 100, the very figure of league average production. However, the inauspicious picture these paint can be deceiving. Both Granderson's base-on-balls and pitches per plate appearance deviated little from his career numbers. More significantly, Granderson's actual BABIP (Batting Average on Balls in Play) (.275) differs markedly enough from the BABIP his Line Drive percentage (21%) would predict (.330). Together, they suggest that the unlucky bounce of the ball accounted for much of the decline in Granderson's batting average (and concomitantly, his base percentage) than a genuine regression in his performance. The same phenomenon likely explains Swisher's swoon in 2008 and his return to his career averages in 2009.
At present, a prominent Achilles Heel nonetheless excludes the Yankees' new center fielder from the game's elite-- his lethal vulnerability to left-handed pitching. Granderson's career OPS+ against lefties is a woeful 28, compared to 128 against right-handers. On Granderson's ability to correct this defect, or to mitigate it, will hinge his legacy in Pinstripes.
Still, whatever additional production the Yankees gained with Granderson in center-field, they promptly squandered in left. Nick Johnson may be able to fill the void left by Matsui's departure, but Gardner, however able an outfielder, cannot replace Damon or compensate for his loss.
Let's take each in turn.
No steadfast Yankee fan these last six years can fail to appreciate the contribution Hideki Matsui made to his team from his first game in Pinstripes on Opening Day in 2003 to his last in Game 6 of the 2009 World Series. The man his countryman call Godzilla entered and exited with a theatrical flourish few successors will equal, let alone surpass. If only for twice sealing the post-season fate of the Yankees' arch enemy Pedro Martinez-- once in 2003 ALCS and again in 2009's World Series-- he has inscribed for himself a permanent place in the Yankees lore.
(A reputation for clutch performance his "late and close" statistics at Baseball Reference only further illustrate. In the 503 plate appearances Matsui batted in the 7th inning or later-- and with the game tied, the Yankees ahead by no more than a single run, or behind no more than the potential run of the on-deck hitter-- he hit .325 with 25 HRs and 85 RBIs, good for a 125 OPS+. Throughout A-Rod's career, by contrast, he has posted a 92 OPS+ in "late and close" situations.)
Beneath the dramatic flair however lay the tragic flaw-- the Achilles' Heel or perhaps, more accurately, the Atlas' Knee. Compelled early in his career to uphold a record for consecutive game played, Matsui inflicted lasting damage to his body. As such, he hasn't appeared in more than 143 games since 2005. In 2006, a fractured wrist limited him to 50 games; in 2008, his chronically arthritic knees sidelined him for July and most of August. Chronically arthritic knees, which, as late as 2009, moreover, prevented his manager from starting him for more than four consecutive games as even the DH? How many teams need to rest their DH 20-30 games a year to keep him healthy?
But because Cashman signed Nick Johnson, a DH who can play the field but only first-base-- a position at which the Yankees already have a younger, more durable and proficient player-- Matsui's liability survives him in different form.
With Johnson's own history of injuries I don't quibble. I grant the Yankees their logic that none are chronic or recurring. Neither do I demur because of the ostensible loss in power posed by replacing Matsui's bat with Johnson's. To the contrary, while Johnson's injuries have sapped his power in recent years, his OPS+ numbers since 2005, actually, have exceeded Matsui's three of those five years: (i) 2005 (137 v. 130); (ii) 2006 (149 vs. 128) and (iii) 2008 (124 v. 108); and in one of the two seasons Matsui's were higher, 2007, Johnson didn't register an at-bat because a freak collision in '06 sidelined Johnson the entire year to follow. (If you place any stock in statistics that combine offensive and defensive value-- and I place little-- Johnson's Wins Over Replacement Player, since 2005, have surpassed Matsui's all four season Johnson played.)
No, my objection follows. In the 40 or so games, the Yankees decide to use Jeter, A-Rod, or Posada at DH, Nick Johnson can neither spell them in the field nor compensate for their replacements' inferior bat by improving the bat at the position where Johnson does play. With Damon as the primary DH, on the other hand, he'd have spelled Gardner in left-field and would have neutralized the loss that Posada, Jeter's and A-Rod's defensive replacements, Cervelli and/or Ramiro Pena, now pose.
For this flexibility alone, Damon, on a one-year contract, was worth his price.
In fact, the ostensible defensive liability that Damon posed in the outfield has been greatly exaggerated as well. Now, I've always regarded metrics that depend upon subjective or relative judgment rather than incontrovertibly objective and verifiable facts with skepticism. That is, Player X did or did not register a hit or a walk in Game Y. We can argue with the official scorer but not with the result: Player X stood on first. From this, we can deduce his likelihood of scoring. Whether Player X should have caught or even reached the ball that sailed over his head in the 9th inning is another matter entirely. Matters get murkier still when assigning a run value to the miscue. Did Player Y hit the cut off man? Did Player Z field the ball cleanly? And on the next pitch, how will the pitcher throw with a runner on base, the eight other fielders set themselves, react, field? Metrics go from murky to practically opaque when you combine this figure with offensive statistics to obtain an aggregate run value.
Still, in this instance, as a heuristic, they illustrate the foolish improvidence of spurning Damon at the cost of an additional 5 or 6 million dollars. After all, the Yankees' front-office, purportedly, uses them to assign players a economic value. Well, according to FanGraph's WPA statistic, even allowing for the defensive upgrade the Granderson-Gardner tandem provide in the Yankees' outfield, they still represent a total regression from Damon-Melky or Damon-Granderson. Together, Granderson and Gardner average a WPA of (0.78 + 0.57 = 1.35) Together, Granderson and Damon combined average WPA since 2004 is (0.78 + 1.77 = 2.55)
The optimist might conclude that a team that scored a league-leading 915 runs in 2009 and won the World Series needn't worry themselves over one left-fielder. But the 2009 Yankees are only a year removed from the old, infirm, lumbering relic that struggled to score runs and by generating only 789 in total, finished 7th in the AL. Should injury befall their 38 year-old catcher for any period of time, disable their oft-injured Designated Hitter, or again, fell their indispensable 34 year old third-baseman and the Yankees will discover themselves mired in similar straits all over again-- an average to above-average lineup and pitching rotation second, and certainly no better, to their arch rival in the division.
Indeed, the starting rotation the Yankees have constructed for 2010 deserves a post of its own. (The cavalier recklessness, the unapologetic error, and the imperial effrontery that has characterized the team's treatment of Chien Ming Wang deserves one in itself.) For now, it's worth asking why Cashman squandered $11.5 million dollars on a starter with league average statistics in the teeth of budgetary constraints. In the four years, Javier Vasquez has pitched in the American League, his ERA+ has exceeeded 100, the league average benchmark, once, in 2007. Likewise, in 3 of 4 seasons, he yielded 29 or more home runs.
If the Yankees wanted to guarantee themselves 200 innings for their fourth rotation spot-- an imperative with which I agree-- they probably could have obtained more with less. For Vasquez's salary, they could have signed two from the gallery of Duscherer, Bedard, Washburn, and Garland on one year contracts and still retained enough money afterward to offer Wang the guaranteed major league contract his agent required. Instead of depending upon one league average pitcher to give them 200 innings, they Yankees could have spread the risk over 2 or 3. Of greater benefit still, they would have conserved Melky and the prospects they traded for Vasquez to upgrade left-field this off-season or if necessary, in July, at the trade deadline.
In fact, the Yankees' unceremonious disposal of Wang may surpass in folly their spurining of Damon. The team's erstwhile ace may or may not recover the velocity upon which both his sinker, specifically, and his performance, generally, hinge. Still, why the Yankees didn't see the merit in risking $4 million dollars for a pitcher whose ERA+ of 124 and 122 ranked among the league's best when healthy, defies prudence and logic. Remember: three year ago, the Yankees paid Octavio Dotel $2 million while he underwent rehabilitation in Tampa. More confounding still, after the Yankees declined to tender Wang a contract, they balked at offering a major league contract regardless of the price.
All of which the Yankee attribute to and justify by the new regime of fiscal prudence they've proclaimed.
Now, when the Yankees invoke payroll limits during contract negotiations to enhance their bargaining leverage, so be it. If it's necessary to field a championship caliber team, so much the better.
But when, after fielding a team totalling $200 million dollars or more the last year five seasons, H&H Steinbrenner & Sons suddenly find religion and declare a payroll limit a year after moving into a palatial state-of-the-art ballpark where the median ticket price is $90 (see Baseball Analyst, 05/02/09) and concessions and souvenier sales, in the "inaugural season" reportedly doubled their projected totals-- then the Yankees insult their fans and demean their season ticket-holders.
More troublesome still, when the Steinbrenners arbitrarily decide 2010's payroll must be less than 2009's, if only by a dollar; when they cling to the peremptory figure they've set irrespective of the circumstance or the consequence in personnel; when they forgo a player not because his price exceeds his value (a figure FanGraphs estimates for Damon in 2010 is $9.7 million) but because their own pointless edict compels them; when the Yankees are willing markedly to weaken their team, in sum, over a difference of $4-6 million dollars, then Alice has returned to Wonderland and we truly have entered Prince Hal's reign, a terra incognita that is austere, obdurate, brutish and ominous.


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Everything seems to be coming up snake eyes for the veterans of education these days. Inexperienced and emotional parents seem to believe that they have the answers to quality school reform, the Obama administration continues to push Race to the Top and its test-based evaluation system which do not appear to be the answer1 and new attacks continue against the assignment and/or grading of homework. This post will briefly address the third issue by addressing the nature of homework.
Note that for this blog post the term 'homework' will reference well designed material which when genuinely attempted by students increases the probability that those students better understand the overall lesson associated with the homework. The reason for this characterization is that clearly no rational person would argue that poorly designed homework is useful in the education process. Also some would argue that homework is only relevant to college-bound students. Such a contention is erroneous as the chief role of schools is to produce individuals that have the ability to solve new and original problems, effectively communicate their opinions and make positive contributions to a society. Therefore, developing tools and strategies to understand new information, which well designed homework can help accomplish, is important to all individuals not just those bound for higher levels of academia.
Differentiation between quality homework vs. non-quality homework largely involves how much additional thought is required to solve the problem/question and how realistic is the problem structure. Rarely will reality simply give a person a single equation or thought process that will solve the problem. A basic example of quality homework vs. non-quality homework is shown below:
Non-Quality Homework Question –
21 / 4 = ???
Quality Homework Question –
John and Suzie want to bake some apple pies for their school's bake sale. John has collected 10 apples from the trees around his house and Suzie has collected 11 apples from the trees around her house. If it takes 4 apples to bake 1 pie how many pies can John and Suzie bake and how many apples will they have left over after all the baking is done?
Those who are generally opposed to homework can be divided into two camps: those who believe homework is not a useful means to increase academic achievement and/or raw knowledge and those who believe that homework can be useful, but schools assign too much of it especially when students have to deal with 5-7 different subjects. Those in the first camp like to cite various studies which attempt to demonstrate that homework does not have any meaningful or significant academic benefit2-4. In some context these individuals view homework as pointless busy work that does little to prepare students for what they need to know. However, these individuals and the authors of these studies at times dismiss the very structural design nature of homework.
The nature of homework is to act as a mechanism to practice different problem solving techniques as well as the ability to clearly explain or disseminate acquired knowledge to another party. A near-ubiquitous amount of testing with lab animals has demonstrated enhanced cognition through simple rote repetition and at times advancing to pattern recognition in addition to enhanced creativity. Basic biochemistry and psychology also dictates that the brain, like any muscle, will strengthen over time when utilized properly and repeatedly (reinforcing neuronal connections). Therefore, any studies that claim homework does not provide a meaningful academic benefit are in contradiction to these basic long-established and logical tenets.
Three explanations jump to mind to address this contradiction. First, the studies that provide these contradictory results do not differentiate between information difficulties. For example if a student can clearly understand a given topic from a simple lecture then doing homework which is designed to reinforce the topic concepts will have little benefit. In such a scenario the black mark should not be made against homework, but instead against the core subject matter and its perceived lack of depth.
Over the time frame of multiple varying topics over numerous years (emulating a student moving from lower grades to higher grades) if homework were proven unnecessary because of 'lecture only' achieved understanding then it would be wise to question the difficulty of these lessons… unless of course the students in these studies were all a bunch of geniuses. Of course with the general poor average performance of American middle and high school students on international standardized tests, using a bunch of geniuses as the sample size for the purpose of creating accurate studies on the usefulness of homework in an academic environment is not appropriate to developing accurate conclusions.
Second, the design of the homework used in these studies was sub-optimal. The assigned homework did not effectively address the important material which was required to understand the given topic. Attempting and completing the homework did not provide a meaningful base of understanding. As discussed above clearly homework as well as almost anything in existence is not useful if it is poorly designed.
Third, the students did not apply an honest effort to doing the homework. If the purpose of homework is to act as a method of practice, any benefit from that practice requires the participant to focus on the practice and proper execution of what is being practiced. There is a common saying that 'Practice makes perfect', but that saying is not accurate because perfection is an impossible achievement and any level of practice, regardless of quality, is not guaranteed to produce any beneficial improvement. The saying should be 'Quality practice makes better'. Therefore, if students were simply 'going through the motions' and not genuinely testing their knowledge and the ability to communicate that knowledge (television and computer off, quiet room, focus on the homework, etc.) then to deem the homework ineffective is inappropriate.
Overall based on these elements and how they may explain the contradictions between these 'homework is not an effective academic enhancement tool' studies and the inherent practice identity of homework, it does not appear to be rational to come to the unequivocal conclusion that homework is an ineffective means to increase academic or overall cognitive ability. Therefore, the first camp of individuals who oppose homework do not appear to have a strong arguing position.
The conflict between pro-homework and anti-homework individuals from the second camp seems to boil down to the principle issue of time management. In the mind of those anti-homework individuals homework could be important on an absolute level, but on a relative level its importance is marginalized by other responsibilities and/or activities. For example a popular refrain from teachers and those that oppose using standardized testing as a means of evaluation (both for teachers and schools) is that students are unique individuals who run the gamut in both personal and psychological characteristics as well as living/working environment. These differences make it difficult to judge teacher performance based on a 'one-size fits all' standardized test with only a short fixed period of time available to instruct on both what is on the test and what is not.
Anti-homework individuals can use this argument against homework. While the end result of learning is what is important and at times may not be properly represented through grades, the current structure of academia uses grades to determine how well an individual acquires and communicates knowledge. Anti-homework individuals question how is it fair that homework be a significant portion of the grading criteria when certain students may be in a situation where their time is focused elsewhere. For example some students may not have a sufficient amount of time to do homework because of an imperfect family life where brothers/sisters have to take care of younger siblings or go to night work to earn extra money to help support the family vs. other students that have wealthy parents who could even have the intellect and the time to assist with the homework.
Also it has been argued that too much homework robs children of their childhood by forcing them to reject various opportunities to engage in extracurricular activities from organized sports or hobby activities to simple outside play with friends. Instead of expanding their minds through a vast array of experiences, these students are trapped doing monotonous homework assignments. Finally when homework accounts for a large percentage of the grade some argue that such an elevated evaluation metric provides an unnecessary level of stress in the student's life which is further compounded by the lack of extracurricular activities, which could be used as a means to reduce stress.
Homework proponents argue back that even if the total amount of homework for a given course is worth a high percentage of the final grade, there is typically enough homework spread out over the entire course that the value of a single assignment is mitigated to the point where there should be little stress associated with each assignment. In fact one characteristic of homework is that it is an important element to learning because it creates a lower pressure lower consequence environment where students can enhance their understanding a particular topic through repetition and where mistakes are more manageable.
An advantageous attribute to a high evaluation metric for homework is that it provides another avenue for students who struggle with communicating acquired knowledge in a testing environment. It cannot be argued that a test in a classroom environment inherently provides more pressure than homework assignments in an environment of the student's choosing. Some students do not have the ability to effectively manage this increased pressure, thus their ability to demonstrate their knowledge suffers accordingly. The principle characteristic of the grade for a course is to conveniently measure how well a student acquired knowledge in a course, not how well a student can manage a high-pressure situation. Therefore, a high evaluation metric allows the grades for a student that 'does not test well' to more accurately reflect the knowledge acquired within the course.
Some opponents argue that while addressing students that 'do not test well' is a positive element for a high evaluation metric, it is more probable that highly evaluated homework conceals poor performance. Students can use homework to bolster overall grades that are detrimentally marred by poor examination results, poor results not due to mishandling stress, but simply due to lack of knowledge. Thus, this evaluation structure misrepresents a student's knowledge in a particular topic portraying that student as more competent than they otherwise are, a disservice to colleges, future employers and the students themselves. However, this analysis only seems valid if the assigned homework is of substandard quality and/or design. If the homework does force the students to work hard at earning high homework grades then using homework grades as a counter measure to examination grades is reasonable.
It must be remembered that the bounds of time do not only impact students. Teachers, especially those with more dynamic topics like history, find themselves having to impart more and more information over the same fixed time period. Unfortunately the total amount of information that needs to be discussed limits the available amount of instruction time for each specific topic. Therefore, without the ability to rigorously cover a particular topic to the point where students have been exposed enough to reasonably understand the topic the probability that the students understand the topic decreases. Homework substitutes for this lack of class time to increase learning and retention probabilities.
Due to time conflicts with other activities and with homework typically characterized, similar to school, in the 'not fun' zone teachers believe that there needs to be sufficient motivation to encourage students to do it. Homework is supposed to be viewed as having long-term benefit both in the form of general knowledge for life as well as knowledge for other evaluation methods (quizzes and tests). Unfortunately to anticipate most children and adolescents foregoing short-term small benefits (doing something else instead of homework) for the potential of long-term benefits is improbable. However, providing some additional benefit to doing the homework (extra credit, etc.) is also inappropriate because the homework is for practice and the 'reward' for practicing is getting better at what is being practiced, not getting better and receiving a cookie (i.e. a monetary award).
With students more than likely not appreciating the inherent benefit and teachers unable to justify expanded benefits, the only remaining strategy teachers have available to promote motivation for most students to do homework is to tie it to grade evaluation with immediate and explicit detriment possibilities. So for teachers to maximize the probability that students learn the required material for a given topic and fulfill the goal of those students becoming good citizens, homework must be done and must have sufficient motivational potential to guarantee that it is done with meaningful effort, thus the necessity of a high evaluation metric.
The biggest problem faced by those that want a high evaluation metric for homework is that such a metric for more intelligent students challenges the 'practice' characteristic of homework. What happens when a student understands the necessary material simply from the lesson itself? This student should not have to spend time, no matter how little, undertaking an assignment that will not increase his/her level of understanding. However, a high evaluation metric for homework forces this student to do just that.
Now it can be argued there is a typical element of perceived knowledge vs. actual knowledge gap for most students. There are a number of instances in school and life in general where an individual may think he/she has sufficient knowledge in a given subject, but when actually tested on that topic this individual quickly realizes that he/she does not have as much knowledge as previously thought. Homework provides a means to address this perception/reality gap before it becomes exposed on a test to the academic detriment of the student. However, the above example does not always fall into this scenario. Therefore, is there a strategy that can provide a motivational aspect to do homework while not burdening those who do not need to take advantage of the practice characteristics of homework? The strategy below seems to be one way to address this issue.
• Homework is given out on a weekly basis; Every Monday an assignment is given out which will cover all of the scheduled material that will be covered in class over that same week; the assignment will be expected to be turned in at the beginning of class on the next Monday (for example homework assigned on Oct. 13 would be turned in on Oct. 20 at the beginning of class); answers for the homework would then be posted or handed-out for the last week's homework at the end of class on Monday.
• Homework will count for 0% of the grade. The reason is that homework, as previously discussed, is designed to give the student multiple opportunities to practice learning the given material. Taking a grade from material that is supposed to be practice is not very fair. Therefore, because homework does not count for any percentage of the grade the students do not have to do it or turn it in if they do not want to.
• Grades will be determined by 4 tests; 3 section tests worth 25% of the grade and 1 cumulative final worth 25% of the grade. As a partial motivator to do homework students may retake one of the section tests if they turned in at least 75% of the assigned homework within the corresponding section and demonstrated a legitimate effort to learn from the homework.
Overall while the above suggestion is merely that, a suggestion, it appears that the above discussion has focused on two important principle issues in the 'homework' discussion. First, is the issue between homework motivation vs. maintaining the practice characteristic of homework designed to enhance learning. Clearly the students that come from a more stable home environment and/or have college as a longer-term goal are better able to provide their own motivation for doing homework whether or not a higher evaluation metric is applied.
Unfortunately in a number of situations these very students that have a greater ability to produce their own motivations are less likely to actually need to do homework to understand the material. Students that do not have these advantages will more than likely need to do homework to help understanding, but may not have the ability to see the self-beneficial elements to homework as a motivational tool. One solution for this issue may be for the teacher to offer options to his/her students. At the beginning of the semester (by the end of the first/second week) the students may select between 1 of 3 grading criteria where homework could count for 0% 15% or 30% of the grade and the remainder would be determined by other graded elements. One immediate concern with this method is encouraging students that need a higher evaluation metric for motivational purposes to take it. For this strategy teachers could assign two or three quizzes over the few two weeks to see where each student stands and then suggest an appropriate metric.
Some observers may argue that the above suggestion creates a mismatched evaluation environment which is inherently unfair and could cause future problems. While such an observation is understandable, the selection of the homework grade percentage criteria by the student ensures fairness. Students should not be competing against each other when earning grades because grades are about what the student knows on an absolute level not on a relative level with his/her peers (this the chief reason curve-based evaluation systems are foolish); therefore, as long as the student is fully aware of the selection and the overall evaluated material is the same for all students fairness is not a problem even if two different students have their respective grades comprised from a different percentage evaluation metric.
Second, is the issue of opportunity cost in doing homework vs. undertaking other activities. The chief element of this issue which causes problems boils down to immediacy of the opportunity cost. The time crunch created by homework, which is frequently associated with increased stress, is typically developed through two methods. First, most students, especially as they advance in grade, have to deal with multiple subjects demanding multiple solution methodologies. Second, homework frequently functions through daily turnover. While the individual assignments may not account for much having to sacrifice enough of them due to more important tasks (like the job to help feed your family) can add up quickly damaging the overall grade when using a high evaluation metric (commonly suggested for motivational purposes).
Unfortunately there does not appear to be a single magic bullet to deal with both issues, but expanding the homework turnover scope could certainly help. As suggested above assigning homework at one particular time to account for the entire week gives the students more flexibility to address the homework. If their time is demanded by a particular activity on a given night, time can be budgeted later in the week to complete homework that would have been missed due to that activity. Another potential advantage to assigning homework in a greater than day-by-day quantity is that it may be easier for students to make connections between building block concepts when doing 'three days work' of homework in one sitting instead of doing the work over a three day period with multiple interruptions. Such a system could also encourage more ambitious students to 'read ahead' in an attempt to do the homework before the class lesson address the material.
One question that comes to mind for such a system is how does it change the grading burden on teachers? Under a more expanded turnover system with a firm homework hand-in date teachers now have 7-times as much homework to grade on a short-term time frame. Grading homework is one of the most daunting and potentially frustrating tasks for a teacher, one that is commonly overlooked by most education reformers when considering teacher workload, so increasing workload in the short-term by 7-times is a significant issue.
One way for a teacher to address this change is to produce a universal answer sheet for the students posted in the class so the students have answers immediately available to them. Then the teacher can proceed to grade the assignments over the course of the week. Hopefully once such a system was established, each individual teacher would get experience with the operation of such an assignment methodology and develop his/her own personal rhythm. Unfortunately there appears to be no definitive universal method that can be applied to this situation, it would be up to the teacher do develop his/her own personal way to address any potential stress augmentation issue relative to grading higher turnover homework.
Overall the question of homework is more complicated than most individuals acknowledge. This blog post has tried to address these complexities in a logical and transparent manner. The biggest problem facing resolution of the homework question seems to be the desire for a universally applied solution. Such a solution treats students as interchangeable commodities which is extremely unrealistic. Therefore, the first major positive step would be to abandon the universal mindset. Future steps should work to address the elements discussed in this blog post to find a quality solution for specific subject matter under the purview of a particular teacher.
1. Bloomfield, David. "Research Calls Data-Driven Education Reforms Into Question." Huffingtonpost.com. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/david-bloomfield/education-reform-standardized-testing_b_882718.html
2. Harris Cooper, The Battle Over Homework. 2nd ed. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin, 2001, p. 16.
3. Bennett, Sara, and Kalish, Nancy. The Case Against Homework: How Homework Is Hurting Our Children and What We Can Do About It (New York: Crown, 2006).
4. Vatterott, Cathy. "There's Something Wrong With Homework." Principal, January-February 2003: 64.
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LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (CBS/AP) An Arkansas doctor accused of seeking revenge on a state medical board that frequently disciplined him was convicted Monday of masterminding a homemade bombing attack against the head of the state medical board - despite the lack of forensic evidence.
Dr. Randeep Mann, 52, could be sentenced to life in prison for his role in the bombing attack that almost killed Dr. Trent Pierce outside of Pierce's West Memphis home Feb. 4, 2009.
According to prosecutors, Mann was resentful toward the medical board that continuously sanctioned him for over-prescribing pain medication to patients. The medical board, which Pierce led, revoked Mann's authority to prescribe narcotics after complaints surfaced that 10 of his patients overdosed and died.
Prosecutors told jurors that they don't believe Mann planted the bomb in Pierce's driveway himself, but do think he ordered someone else to do it. No one has been charged with planting the bomb.
During the course of the trial prosecutors admitted that in-depth testing of the materials collected from the crime scene--a spare tire, a hand grenade, duct tape and a piece of string used to pull the pin--did not match materials found in and around Mann's home in Pope County, approximately 200 miles away from where the incident occurred.
"In this case it was difficult, however we had a lot more evidence than just forensic evidence," said assistant U.S. attorney Karen Whatley.
One of the strongest pieces of evidence prosecutors presented to jurors was an e-mail from Mann to his brother in India. The subject line read "Pierce" and a photograph of the doctor was enclosed with the text, "I hope this picture is good."
A friend of Mann's also testified that the doctor told him time after time that members of the Arkansas State Medical Board need to "suffer like he suffered."
The jury deliberated for more than two days before delivering its verdict. Before it was read, Mann smiled at his children and other family members who were seated in the courtroom gallery. Pierce, whose face is freckled with bits of black tire embedded in his skin from the bombing, was not present in the courtroom Monday because he was tending to patients in his West Memphis medical clinic.
Mann was convicted of using a weapon of mass destruction, destroying a vehicle with an explosive, obstruction of justice and illegally possessing 98 grenades and a machine gun. He was acquitted of illegally possessing a shotgun.


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