uncool2pillow

Dang you're a youngin'

I will spend tomorrow teaching 7th graders about the 9/11 attacks, the roots of terrorism, and the aftermath of those attacks. These kids were in kindergarten when the attacks happened. Responsible parents and teachers sheltered them from the horrors of that day. But now, the gap between what the know about the world and what they need to know being 5 or 6 years away from adulthood is frightening. Hopefully, I'm closing that gap. Anyone who lost loved ones seven years ago or in Afghanistan or Iraq, my heart goes out to you!

Pretty much this whole CD:

Pretty much anything by Jojo, except Pablo Picasso.

Maybe it's the same bastard who stole Mike Watt's bass.

Thanks for posting. Reading about his old NBC bits got me laughing. Damn, him doing Marlon Brando and the banana dance is enough to make me wet myself.

I'm now the proud legal owner of the complete UT discography.

Watched these 2 this weekend: 21 was horrible. The story as told in the book is much more interesting. Kevin Spacey and Laurence Fishburne really should be a bit ashamed. Persepolis was okay, but not quite what I wanted it to be. I was hoping for more historical/cultural insight and a little less personal memoir.

Tarvaris Jackson just can't get the job done.

One of the most trusted and beloved pediatricians in Des Moines is Dr. Hussein. He's from India and he's a Muslim. Also happens to be a well-respected doctor. Makes me think, though... Does anyone still use the surname Hitler? I don't think it was as common of a German name as Hussein is Arabic, but anyway.

In a category all his own. I think he's great, but doesn't have that E-Street sound. And he's much more established than THS and Marah.

Someone needs to write a book or lengthy article about The Hold Steady and Marah because I have the title: Punk on E Street

Well done.

Are there any other kind of day for the Browns?

Ghostbusters was a good movie. Ghostbusters II was awful. I can't imagine that III will be worth the film it's printed on, but I will reserve judgment for now.

In most cases, you have to declare a party to vote in their primary. Independents get to participate less.

It very much needs a makeover. One of the main premises of NCLB is that by 2014 ALL students will be proficient in math, reading, and science. This is the schools' responsibility. Parents and students have none, nor can they legally, obviously. Each state was allowed to define proficient in their own way, with federal approval. Iowa's definition is scoring above the 40th percentile on ITBS tests. By that definition, 40 percent of the students will ALWAYS be defined as not proficient. It is statistically impossible to have all students proficient.

Wow! A cool teacher. I would never loan a CD to a student. Also, I wouldn't want a parent hearing "Passenger Side" then asking, "Where'd you get that CD?"

I don't belong to the union, but they're not as much of the problem as the entire educational bureaucracy. My main beefs with the NEA are: 1. They are absolutely opposed to any form of merit teacher. A more experience teacher is usually, but certainly not always better and there are some fair ways to measure this. Will it be perfect? No, but the current system does not provide external incentives for teachers to excel. 2. They have made it too difficult to fire bad teachers. 3. The national union takes stand on issues not at all related to education. It's the NEA, not a political party.

I am a registered Republican (actually a temporary dem. to vote in a local primary). I agree w/ my friends on the left on a lot of the social issues. I am pro-civil union and pro-choice (though anti Roe v. Wade, don't ask, it's complicated). I still consider myself a Republican because my party should believe in limited government. As a public school teacher (yes, and a Republican), I believe George Bush and congress hijacked the public schools with the NCLB law. From a "conservative" president... Please!

I read or heard about the UT split up and formation of Wilco and SV. At that point, I'd heard of UT, but didn't know much about them. The Jayhawks were the only altcountry band I followed. I bought both AM and Trace. Liked 'em both fairly equally. Then I bought Being There and had one of those transcendent experiences. Didn't get to see them live until 2003. Huge fan ever since, esp. after being luck enough to see the 2nd residency show this year. That's when I started paying attention to VC.