Globalization, Why Have You Forsaken Me?

Everyone talks about how how small the world is becoming; I have electronics that were made in China, for crying out loud.

So why, oh why, is so much of American stuff still so regional?

Allow me to 'splain.

This may be the best soda ever.  However, you can't find it in a single grocery store here.  Thank goodness for Galco's.

I keep hoping that since Ralphs merged with Kroger, at least Kroger's house brand birch beer might make it to the west coast.  The slow appearance of other house brand items gave me brief hope but -- still, no birch beer.

Now, mind you, I didn't even know that the stuff existed until my early 20s, on a trip back to Pennsylvania (I think it was one that was just for a visit).  I knew of root beer, of course, but my mom remembered birch beer fondly and found some in a store.

Oh.  My.  God.

And it's not just beverages.

So, a couple of summers ago, I went over to the Wegmans (aaah, Wegmans, you wonderful, amazing, Costco-sized Whole Foods/Trader Joe's...why can't you migrate to the west coast?) for a few staples (Patrick never eats well on trips, so a stop somewhere for bread and peanut butter is par for the course) and fell so immediately in love.

If you like to cook...it's like heaven.  It's like walking into a Gelsons or a Whole Foods, with stuff of similar quality to either of them or a Trader Joe's, but it's the size of a Costco, and carries at least the variety of stuff you'd find at a grocery store.  It has...oh, it's beyond description.

Let's just say that I was terribly, terribly sorry that I had nothing really to cook with or on.

Plus, they had actual, real, red, non-molded strawberries.  From California.  In Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.  Of better quality than the ones in Gelsons in California.

And Friendly's.

Oh, Friendly's.

Half Baskin Robbins, half...what?...Denny's, maybe, but with good food.  I have never in my life enjoyed fish, but their fish and chips was yummy.  And that's saying nothing of their absolutely wonderful blended Oreo...thing.  Thicker than, say, milk, but thinner than a shake...it's....

Pardon me, but I'm channeling my inner Homer....

(As it's made it as far as Arizona, we won't count Perkins -- a half-Denny's, half-Millie's clone with good food.)

This rant inspired by yet another Sonic commercial tormenting me with Sour Apple Slushes to numb my itchy throat that are at least an hour away.

Not cool, cable.  So not cool.

(Also?  What the heck is Ruby Tuesday, and why are you advertising their yummy-looking food on my cable right after the Sonic commercials?)

ETA:  Googling has told me that Ruby Tuesday exists in California only near Sacramento.  What the heck, cable?  Sonic is...if not local, at least...well, kinda local, if you're the drive-to-Disneyland types.  But...Sacramento?

Beyond the Rim of Starlight

RIP, Alexander Courage.

(How many of you actually knew the Star Trek theme song had lyrics -- from which I conveniently snitched the title?)

While not the subtlest of music, nor even the best (IMHO, Deep Space Nine's theme music is the prettiest), the original Trek theme song is iconic.  It's one of those things that, if you're a sci-fi fan, is just woven into your subconscious.

It's like the "Imperial March," or the Star Wars theme, or the swell of music as "The Lord of the Rings" (at 29 seconds into the linked video) showed on the screen.

It just is.  Throughout the series, there are better and more subtle pieces of music, but....

Yeah.

ETA:  Seriously, what is it with composers lately?  (I know Alexander Courage passed a few days ago, but it just appeared on Sci-Fi Wire today.)

A Bit Behind

So, summer school isn't all that far away, and I've been pondering what to do with the kids.

Oh, sure, there's the usual: we are far enough behind on News-2-You that between what's not done and the two that will be published during the summer in time for summer school, that'll all be taken care of.

Plus, I make journals really long during summer school -- the better to keep them busy. :-)

And, of course, there's the daily...ahem..."social skills" stuff that involves playing Memory, Zoofari (which is really Candy Land but has a neat jungle theme that doesn't look like it was made for very small children), Tic Tac Toe and dice games.

But at this point last year, I was working on journals, had News-2-You printed as far ahead as I could, and had already bought the book of poems we used for our second whole group activity each day.

(I like to do my whole group stuff after each major transition -- come to school, everyone does journals, come in from recess, everyone does our book, come in from PE, etc., everyone does News-2-You.  Helps me pull 'em back in.)

In any event, I've been pondering what to do this summer.  Ever since they cut summer school from five weeks to four, my go-to series for adapted novels (Edcon's, for what it's worth) is just not feasible.  They are cut into ten chapters, yes, but with nineteen days of summer school, you have to count in: one day for about the author and pre-reading activities, one day for a preview of the story, one day for a closing activity/book report, and one day for a movie.  That leaves 15 days to read a 10 chapter book, which means less than two days per chapter.

Nah.

Last year, we did American-themed poetry.  Each week, I took an era of American history and chose two poems to read -- they were adapted with picture support, and the kids had to do things like classifying (circle all the people), writing convention (highlight all the capital letters) and sight word identification (circle each "the" on the page).

This summer, after pondering it for some time (should I adapt my own book and smush it into seven chapters; should we do more poetry; should we work more in our social studies book), I decided to do Greek myths.

For one thing, this is tangentially related enough that I can let 'em watch the Disney version of Hercules.  For another, I can adapt the myths to as long (a week each?) or as short (two days each?) as I want.

Plus, they're a sixth grade standard.  Yay me.  :-)

However, I just now got around to ordering the book I'll be modifying.

(Not to mention, I'm still typing tomorrow's Matilda chapter, and I'm breaking my rule by almost three hours.)

Eenie Meenie Miney Moe

Some days are boring.

June 2, apparently, was very interesting.

Do I do the first president to get married in the White House?  Fun, interesting, will appeal to the girls.

Do I do US citizenship for Native Americans?  Ties into all the kids' social studies texts that we've been working on.

Do I do Lou Gehrig dying of ALS?  We've had journals about Lou Gehrig before, and several of the kids play baseball on weekends.

Do I do Queen Elizabeth II being crowned?  We've had other journals about her before, as well, plus, she's the current queen.  And, queens will appeal to the girls.

Or do I do the Mars Express probe?  With Phoenix in the news, they're all kind of into space, and we've been working on where you live: city, state, country, planet.  Yes, I'm teaching them that they live on Earth.

Dilemmas, dilemmas.

ETA:  Obviously, June 2's whole plan was to make June 3 so incredibly boring.

Phoenix Again

For the most part, I left my Babylon 5 days when the series ended (though my online moniker hearkens back to those days), but I have to say, this (closeup from a screen grab below) does my geeky heart good:

Not only was "Messages from Earth" one of my favorite episodes (the best of the series, IMHO, was the run between "Messages From Earth" through "War Without End"), but it boasted some of the best scoring in the series.

The DVD is a nifty idea, though I think the idea that future aliens could play one is...optimistic...at best.

Totally unrelated except that my quote brain got engaged thinking about "War Without End," but I must share two of the best quotes from that episode:

• Cannot run out of time.  There is infinite time.  You...are finite.  Zathras...is finite.  This...is wrong tool.

• Why do your people always ask if someone is ready right before you're going to do something massively unwise?

Meanwhile, another filk.  Someone, at some point, will probably ask me to take these down.  If so, so be it. Until then, "The Phoenix" from "Walkabout", because -- who knows?  Maybe Fred, Roger, or Gus is on Mars right now:

In a tower of flame in capsule twelve, I was there

I know not where they laid my bones; it could be anywhere

But when fire and smoke had faded, the darkness left my sight

And I found my soul in a spaceship's soul riding home on a trail of light

CHORUS:

And my wings are made of tungsten

My flesh of glass and steel

I am the joy of Terra for the power that I wield

Once upon a lifetime, I died a pioneer

Now I sing within a spaceship's heart

Does anybody hear?

Before each morning's launch, they know that I am there

To the soul that warms this vessel's hull, they say a silent prayer

I am father ship and spirit of the dream for which they strive

For I am man at the hands of man, see us rocket for the sky

CHORUS

My thunder rends the morning sky; yes, I am here

Though lost to flame when I was man, now I ride her without fear

For I am more than man now, and man built me with pride

I led the way, and I lead the way, of man's future in the sky

CHORUS

The Phoenix Has Landed

Without getting into a huge debate over the practicality of the space program (I, personally, think that we're soon going to have several billion folks who need to go somewhere), I just have to say kudos to NASA as Phoenix joins her sisters Spirit and Opportunity.

It hasn't always been easy, but it's been a nifty string of successes y'all have had lately.

As for the debate I don't want to get into:

Say to me, "No more Apollo"

Say to me, "The job is done"

And I say, "Your words are hollow

And our work has just begun"

Say to me, "We need the money

Just to feed the poor"

And I say, "Gee, that's funny

It's for them that we explore."

Say to me, "We should be fighting"

Say to me, "The world's at war"

And I say, "We are uniting

People tired of war and more"

Say to me, "There's too much danger

Say, "We could be lost"

And I say, "I am no stranger to danger

That's the cost"

Say to me, "The world is dying,

Ready for its last hurrah"

And I cry, "Keep on trying,

We must find our Shangri-La."

Say to me, "No more Apollo"

Say to me, "The job is done"

And I say, "Your words are hollow

And our work has just begun

And our work has just begun"

 -- "Apollo Lost," Cynthia McQuillin

Beyond Ridiculous

Y'all know I've had a...dramatic...class this year.  Bulldozer, Superhero, and PH have been the main contributors, with M thrown into the mix too.

I know there have been days when the rest of them would've cheerfully pitched Bulldozer into the dumpster, especially after another hour of endless wailing.

I know there have been days when Mr. Voice was scripting at 90 decibels, Superhero was giggling the bad giggle, and Bulldozer was howling like he'd had an arm amputated.

(I even had to buy and $8 knock-off of these for poor M.)

But this is just...digusting.  The poor kid.

(By the way -- I have had an epiphany about PH.  He can still be a royal pain in the butt, and there are frequently times that he can be...well, not the nicest person around.

But the other day, he was so upset about being ignored by his whack-job mom that he made her a card that said "I miss you."  To the mom he freaking lives with.

He still drives me nuts...but I finally found the hook that enables me to have more empathy for him.)

That's Disney For You

It amuses me beyond measure that the store opened before the ride.

Sad and Amusing

Please don't hate me because I find this blog very, very amusing.

Especially this one, since it's a formal thing from a school.  If she's still living (I got a Christmas card from her either this year or last year), Mrs. Sylwester is exploding steam out of her ears at this very moment.  If she's not, she is spinning in her grave.

And this one, 'cause it's freaking tatooed on your body forever.

Something Random

I could rant.

I won't.

(Although Program Specialist SBS got some of it, and was suitably shocked about M, Bulldozer, and Superhero all being taken off direct speech services.)

Instead, I'll say this:  a few weeks ago, I had lunch at uWink.  It is definitely for the techie crowd, but it's fun.  The food is pretty good too.  :-)  It's not, say, a special steak and eggs at Brent's, Knott's mashed potatoes, or a Red's salad, or even a Bear Pit sandwich.

In other words, it doesn't taste like one of those unique, local places, but it is good mainstream restaurant food.

And, yes, I eat at Knott's for the mashed potatoes and not the fried chicken.  So sue me.

Squee!

I am either very tired, or very weird, but I find this very, very amusing.

Done

Okay, so the only goal I'm not too sure about is the math one -- I'm worried that Superhero's mom will think it's a step back, but it's not, really -- it's a functional skill that our CAPA testing showed that he's totally missing (counting dollars to buy something -- he can count, but when asked to apply it, he so couldn't).

Also, still no speech goal.

Anyhow, it's times like this that you think back to when he started -- as much as there are drawbacks to having kids for three years (I think, as much as he wants attention in general, Superhero is done with elementary school), it makes times like this kinda fun.

Like, when I was writing that he's not only completing familiar tasks by himself (his first year's goal was to complete 1, and his last year's goal was to complete 5), he's asking to and preferring to try things himself.

I stop and think of the -- very, very cute -- little 9-year-old who thought that if he just stared at me with that adorable grin, I'd think he didn't know what he was doing and do his work for him.

I think of the first day he finished his -- then very simple -- journal by himself.  All he had to do was color a picture, circle the matching one, cut a rectangle, and glue it in...but it was his Everest.

He may have driven me crazy this year, and I know teachers aren't supposed to say it, but that guy's one of my favorites.  Much as I adore Elastigirl, Superhero's got a special place in my heart.

Something's Fishy

More on Superhero.

So, I'm a procrastinator.  I'm okay with that.  In fact, I work best to a deadline.  Superhero's IEP is tomorrow.

But adding to my foreboding that DFT is going to either attach herself to a goal of mine (which, by the way, would be fine, as what he needs to work on in speech is exactly the goal I wrote...except that she didn't ask) or try to put him on consult is...he has no speech goal.

How do I know this?

Well, it's 8:53 p.m. and she has not added her goal to his IEP.  (An interesting side benefit to this whole online IEP thing.)

(For the record, all I have left is the math goal, which I'm floundering about....)

3 Years

...for three years I warned you this day was coming....

Oops.  Shut up, quote brain.

I'm writing Superhero's last IEP (for me).  I'm strangely not freaked about it -- mostly 'cause Mr. Voice's tri is next Tuesday, wherein I'll be yelled at for another three hours, and I know that Superhero's mom likes me.

However, I am gleefully (bad Spoowriter) anticipating her reaction -- as a Regional Center Case Manager herself -- to what I suspect will be Speech Person's DFT's attempt to take her son off of speech.

Her son, who is currently having behavior challenges because he can't communicate efficiently enough to interact with people to get enough attention from them.

Yeah.

I should not be jazzed about that.

But I am.

Does that make me a bad person?

The Blood Test

From the wrist.

They took the blood from my freaking WRIST.

Courage

I think I've mentioned before that I have an intense fascination with World War II in general and the Holocaust in particular.

There are a few reasons for that.

One, I think, is morbid curiosity -- the feeling that if you watch one more special, read one more book, think just a little more psychologically, it'll actually make sense.  Of course, it never will.  You can rationalize it with the Treaty of Versailles, with the extreme depression in Germany -- it's common for people to point out it took a wheelbarrow full of money to buy a loaf of bred.  Germans were a beaten-down people who were desperate to...yadda yadda yadda.

But 11 million people died...nothing could ever make that make sense.

Another is, more than likely, the fact that so many of my family members would have been among Hitler's victims.  It's not fair, really, to the victims of the Holocaust (of all persuasions) to say that it is of more interest because it's personal, but I think sometimes that the enormity of the whole thing is so incomprehensible (how do you conceive of 11 million people in any kind of concrete way?) that it's human nature to personalize it.

There's something haunting about the Holocaust -- a surreality to it that just never goes away.  Very little on TV has affected my like the dedication at the end of an episode of The Outer Limits:  "Dedicated to my father, who survived Auschwitz, and to his wife and son who did not."  The show was about time travel and sci-fi stuff, yes, but it was also about how the Holocaust continued to affect the main character's father -- and himself, born to the father's second wife in America.  I gather from Sam Egan's dedication that the character was at least partly autobiographical.

And then there's the stories themselves.  Sure, everyone has read The Diary of Anne Frank -- but I've always been fascinated by the story of Miep Gies, who -- along with her husband -- risked so much to try to save the Frank family.

Everybody has probably heard the cliche: all that is needed for evil to succeed is for good men to do nothing.

During the Holocaust, doing something could very well be fatal, and yet, there are many, many stories of heroes who risked everything to save who they could.

It was terribly dangerous, of course -- opposing a police state nearly always is.  But some people found the courage to do something, and it always makes me wonder: in that situation, would I have had the same courage?

I don't think anyone can truly answer that question until they are faced with the circumstance, for what it's worth.

A hero died today.

The only thing I can think of to say is, it makes me think of the end of Schindler's List, where the people Schindler saved (and their descendants) pass by and put stones on his grave -- she is responsible for saving the lives not only of the actual people she saved, but for all the generations that would come after.

TMI

Dear reproductive system,

Really?

I mean...really?

First, you run a week and a half late and yet now you're right smack dab to-the-hour on time?

Two and a half weeks, reproductive system.  I want more than two and a half weeks.

No love,

Me

Closer and Closer

A couple of weeks ago, I got dreadfully behind.  I was spending most weekends trying to catch up on enough work just to get the kids through next week.  I'm not complaining, really -- I'm proud that I offer my students age-appropriate and yet functional activities.  It just takes a lot of work to get there.

Each week, it's been something.  First, it was being sick.  Then, it was finding out about New Boy B (who's been at school once since last Wednesday).  Then, it was...I don't remember what it was last week.

This week, it was the training Primary Teacher M and I went to on Wednesday.  Mileage-wise, it's about an hour a day.  But rush hour on the 210 was not something I wanted to contemplate, so I stayed at a hotel in the area.

Which, of course, effectively knocked out one night of work.

Then, when the conference (at the hotel near the Pomona Fairplex) was over, I chatted with Teacher M a while about what I'd learned about creating visual schedules for students with autism at another training.

I'd already had vague notions of zipping down the 57 to go to Sonic for a slush, and at one point thought that having dinner by myself at Disneyland might be fun -- 'cause, you know, what kind of crowds could there be on a Wednesday afternoon?

Anyway, I'm driving down the 10 when I see the outbound traffic from either the 210 or the 57.  Yeesh.  Off to Anaheim I went.

Only to be presented with a parking structure that was 5 out of 6 floors full.  On a freaking Wednesday afternoon.

Okay, I think, more and more people have annual passes...who knows?

The number of school-aged kids in the park was staggering.  What was even more so was the number of people I heard marvelling over random things like they'd never been there before.  What the heck?

Anyway, I got a lot done -- rode Soarin', then went to Taste Pilots Grill for dinner (I wanted ribs, which I never order when I'm wish someone 'cause they're kinda expensive, but they were out), then caught some of the new Pixar Play Parade.  So I headed over to Disneyland, where I rode Buzz, Space Mountain, Big Thunder Mountain, saw the Tiki Room, and did Pirates.

Plus, waited in a godawful slow line for a Dole Whip Float only to have the Tiki Room start and have to get out of line with ONE PERSON IN FRONT OF ME (Patrick never wants to see the Tiki Room, and I figured since I was by myself....).  So afterwards, I got a churro and sat on the drawbridge for the castle for a fairly nice, though somewhat tree-obstructed, view of the Parade of Dreams.

My thinking, of course, was: if I'm not going to get home until 8:00 anyway 'cause I'll be sitting in bumper-to-bumper traffic, why not go do something fun for a few hours, and get home at 9:00?

But of course, I got nothing done that night.

To be fair, while I was at the hotel, I got the following accomplished:

*  News-2-You for next week

*  Page 1 of journals (today is, yesterday was, etc.)

*  Name/signature practice for journals (2 days a week)

*  Math pages for journals (2 days a week)

So the fact that I got everything else done tonight but homework and vocabulary practice for journals for next week is good, right?

Ewwww

Okay, so, I know that actors do not equal characters.  Really, I do.

But it's still squicky to be flipping channels (all 7 of 'em here at the hotel I'm staying at to go to a training tomorrow) and see someone who is firmly entrenched in my mind as M's mom, in the middle of a sex scene.

And He's a Better Writer, Too!

A while back, I tried to explain why I had misgivings about the J.J. Abrams Star Trek movie.

Wil Wheaton -- yes, Wesley Crusher -- just explained it so much better than me.