out of hiding for these...

Ok. A few things.

Watched Bill Maher the other day and he interviewed Jesse Ventura. He spoke about the Catholic church and the recent molestation issues. He mentioned how the church is actually functioning as an illegal mafia-like organization and by covering up and aiding felons (the molesting priests) they are breaking the law and can/should be tried as a criminal organization. I think I agree. Also he mentioned something I never really thought of; legalizing drugs will actually take the power away from the criminal organizations that are benefiting from drugs being illegal. In all my years of advocating for drug legalization can you believe I never thought/ heard of that? I feel like an idiot. Oh, and Tea Party people on the average [aid less in taxes this year than normal. Crazy stuff.

Fashion

I am not fashionable so I never really talk about it. Today, however, a famous fashion designer, Alexander McQueen committed suicide and its all over the papers. I would like to say that when Howard Zinn (one of our greatest historians) died, no big picture/article was featured on the NY Times homepage...Alexander McQueen's all over the homepage. Sad. I would never make fun of suicide...I feel bad for him and his family...but i did stumble upon this little excerpt from the NY times article about him that pretty much sums up why I hate the fashion industry:

'Though he apprenticed on Savile Row, Mr. McQueen, thumbed his nose at the conventions of English style by staging lavish runway productions that included clothes made with animal bones and models made to look as if they were patients in a mental ward or participants in a life-sized chess match...'

Fucking ridiculous. Seriously. Ridiculous. Making ridiculous, unwearable clothes from animals, jerk-offs snapping pictures of people looking like chess pieces and mental patients. I can't think of a more meaningless line of work. Unless you are designing clothing that helps survive environmental extremes or that fits different shapes of people comfortably, it is meaningless. I thought the movie Zoolander was an exaggeration...I was completely wrong. Fashion is a field for artists who can't do art. Although .0000000001% of the popualtion can afford/fit into/comprehend most high fashion, its existence is presented to the general population as something we should all strive to afford/fit into/comprehend. Sad.

Goodbye from one lion to another...

Before Ted Kennedy's passing I knew as much about him as the average person.  I knew he was an advocate for equal healthcare and I knew he commanded respect in the Senate.  I also knew of his scandals and trespasses.  Since his passing, I've read up on him.  Whether you love him or hate him there is one aspect to his life we can all identify with: The fact that he lived a very human life.He lived this very human life VERY publicly.  Most politicians we idolize have skeletons in their closet but Senator Kennedy did not have a closet.  It was all out there for everyone to see.  I respect him for making mistakes and pressing on. He will be missed.

Well done, Mrs. Palin...well done

Let's just hope it ends here. Palin resigned the governorship of Alaska. There are so many things I can say but I will limit it. There is speculation that she may be setting up for a presidential bid...I have to believe (since I've said before that I never really believed GW Bush was ACTUALLY out there to hurt us) she is smart enough to not make that mistake and make a fool of herself again. Here is what I am expecting so lets just shoot it all down now: Palin will say she is not the "usual politician". She will say something like "politics is a corrupt and amoral practice and I don't want to blah blah blah". She will probably throw in her family as an excuse (even though Bristol threw her hat into the public ring). I'm not sure what other crap will come out. Here is what should come out: "Politics is a game for the big boys and girls and I could not and now realize I can not handle it" Her supporters will blame everybody from the media to every liberal on Earth. McCain's campaign team won't blame anyone because they have already said that they thought she was fucking retarded from the get go. Here is what she IS doing pending a serious personal problem: She is deserting her state who needs leadership at a time when all states are suffering. She is deserting a party who (supposedly) supports states rights over big government and is leaving her state to a Lt. governor. Selfish, stupid, cowardly...those are the 3 words that initially come to mind. I really hope she is done with politics. it will be better for everyone. The Disney fantasy of a "regular" mom becoming president is hopefully over.

Monthly piss off...

Occasionally I list a couple of things that piss me off. Here are two of them:

1.) "Kill Your Television" T-shirts and Stickers: To the owners of these products, PLEASE KILL YOURSELF. I read books and watch/read the news. I also exercise, play music, hold down a steady job as a teacher, play the shit out of video games, and have an active social life. I also enjoy TV. If you are so unable to multitask, if you are so pretentious that you can not let yourself just sit back, relax and enjoy some shows then I have no respect for you at all. You are probably out of the loop in many social situations (except for the ones populated by you and your pretentious friends) and are a weirdo. In fact, I guarantee it. Seriously its almost 2010. We are well into the 21st century by now and its time to accept TV is an important medium. if you are too stupid to know what good TV and bad TV is, then you are too stupid to live.

2.) The culture of 8th grade graduation in NYC: Why do we celebrate the graduation of 8th grade? You are qualified to do exactly nothing with a middle school "diploma". Kids are being made to believe that they have actually achieved something. The culture here is making it into a rite of passage which is dangerous...it is not a rite of passage, it is a very very small step in the adolescent academic process. My kids have a graduation at a separate location with caps and gowns. they even get CLASS RINGS! Class fucking rings?! Really? For middle school? That's just pathetic. I can not believe my school even supports this practice. I understand that I have students who will not graduate high school and this IS their graduation. In that case, it should be celebrated privately with family. Let's stop setting up our kids for failure by celebrating these little steps in their life that they are SUPPOSED TO TAKE.

Notes from the teaching underground

So as you may have heard the school budgets in NYC are slashed. I would like to give a little perspective on these cuts and what they mean. First of all, my school budget. When I started teaching our budget for running the school was 1.4 million dollars. This is the money left over after all salaries are paid. My second year, that money was cut down to $800,000. This year we had $700,000. Now these are significant cuts from year to year. $100,000 to a public school is a fortune. Now, guess what our budget is for next year? $600,000, logically...right? Try $130,000. We went from $1.4 million 3 years ago to $130,000. That is barely enough for paper and basic supplies. All after school programs have been cut including chess which, if you have not heard, we have the best chess program in the country, not the state, the country. Correction. We HAD the best program.
Besides all of this it is a fact that there is a direct correlation between after school programs and gang recruitment. Those extra few hours between school and dinner time are prime recruitment hours for gangs. Cutting after school programs may be worse than firing teachers in terms of saving a child's future. I just wanted to make my readers aware of what budget cuts actually look like at the school level. Cutting after school programs in urban areas and then increasing the police force to compensate for the increased crime rates is fucking retarded. Again, its our country being reactive instead of proactive.

swine flu york

So I'm back from my 1 week swine flu vacation (my school was one of the Brooklyn public schools to close). I have an issue with the way the city handled this situation. In Mexico, when the outbreak began, they shut EVERYTHING down and although some died, they limited causalities with their swift action. NYC waited 3 to 4 days too long and STILL have not shut the entire system down. Again, Americans being reactive instead of proactive (a fundamental flaw in our [Americans] overall philosophy about so many issues).

Mexico, knowing they would lose a billion or more dollars (which their economy did) if they shut down, put their citizens health ahead of money. I guess the almighty dollar is more important than lives in the financial sinkhole of the northeast. I love this city but they do some pretty stupid shit sometimes.