Blog Archives - The Land of the Weird

The Land of the Weird

MCU Phase Three

7/17/2019

The third phase of the Marvel Cinematic Universe is by far the largest, now consisting of 11 movies (although the eleventh could be up for some debate), which nearly doubles the movies in the MCU. That's a lot of movies, most of them great, all of them with great moments.

We watched the first three today, and while they all have amazing moments, this is probably my least favorite grouping. It includes Captain America: Civil War (with the wonderful introductions of Spider-Man and Black Panther, and the less-than-wonderful "civil war"), Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch! ... and his "American" accent ...), and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (Baby Groot is Rowen's favorite, lots of exposition is not). The tentative plan for the rest is as follows:

July 24: 1:00 PM - 3:13 PM Spider-Man: Homecoming (2h 13m)
3:15 PM - 5:25 PM Thor: Ragnarok (2h 10m)
5:40 PM - 7:55 PM Black Panther (2h 15m)

July 31: 1:00 PM - 3:40 PM Avengers: Infinity War (2h 40m)
3:45 PM - 5:50 PM Ant-Man and the Wasp (2h 5m)
6:05 PM - 8:15 PM Captain Marvel (2h 10m)

August 7: nothing--Endgame doesn't come out until next week

August 14: 5:00 PM - 8:01 PM Avengers: Endgame (3h 1m)
(technically after summer break, this will be after the work day at school)

Spider-Man: Far from Home - Recently, they added the most recent Spider-Man movie to the list of Phase 3 movies rather than the start of Phase 4 as had originally been suggested. I understand some of the reasons why, but I largely disagree with this decision if for no other reason than there isn't a Stan Lee cameo--which to me, makes this a different era of Marvel movies. However, as I'm not in charge of such things, it's technically counted as part of the Infinity Stones Saga. We'll have to watch it after it comes out on video.

First Time Dipnetting

7/16/2019

Friends of ours (who took the pictures of us in the water) asked if we would like to join them when they went dipnetting today. They offered to share their equipment. Dipnetting is a type of fishing in Alaska that can only be done by Alaskan residents. Simply stated, one takes a very large net (no more than 5 feet in diameter at its widest point), wades into the river, and waits for fish to swim into the net. Residents can catch up to 25 salmon for the head of household and an additional 10 for each immediate family member living in that household. These fish cannot be sold, traded, or given to anyone outside of that immediate household. Enforcement is strict.

Janelle was quite excited at the prospect, but unfortunately had to work. That did not stop her from recommending which set of waders and boots for me to get. We also bought a set of hip boots (which were not as helpful) for Trevor and a new cooler as Janelle did not want any of our other coolers to smell of fish. Our next step was to get fishing licenses for Trevor and myself, as well as a permit for dipnetting.

I found the experience to more difficult than I expected. The drag of the current made it a struggle to keep the net upright, and my arms and legs feel tired and worn after just about three hours out there. Meanwhile, the mucky river bottom made standing difficult and walking even more so.

The fish weren’t really running when we were there. There was a false alarm when Connor thought he got a fish, but it turned out that his friend was messing with him. About an hour in, a fish hit my net. In short, I panicked. I tried lifting the net out of the water and only succeeded in bending the handle of my friend’s net. My friend told me to press the net down against the river bottom and start walking in. ... I fell, my boots not wanting to lift from the suction in the muck. I stood, hoping the fish was still in, and tried moving back again, only to fall in a second time, losing the fish.

Considering the lack of hits, I was concerned that I had just let our only fish get away. I bent the handle back into shape and went out again. About fifteen minutes later, I caught another fish; the hit was hard enough to snap the handle. This time, I drew the pole closer to me and moved out of the river slowly. My friend clubbed in, removed it from the net, and bled it.

I ended up using the net Trevor had been using when he decided to take a break—this was after about twenty minutes of using the smaller net Connor had been using when he decided to call it quits. I got another hit almost immediately—at that point the man next to me, who had been there longer than us without catching anything, made a comment about my lucky spot.

By the time we decided to pack it in, a decision prompted by a strong downpour that included some hail freezing Connor, I had caught two more Sockeye (Red) salmon, bring the count to four. Our friend kindly filleted them and vacuum sealed them so they could be frozen for later. The boys unfortunately did not have any catches (Connor claimed that I was using “hacks” to get mine). They’re not sold on the experience, but I think I would be willing to try again.

Dominion

7/15/2019

At the recommendation of a number of our friends, we finally picked up a copy of the deck-building game Dominion. Specifically, we purchased the 2nd edition "Big Box" set that includes the Intrigue expansion; although, we have yet to play with any of those cards yet.

We really weren't certain what to expect, and the first game caused a great deal of confusion. However, everything seemed to click by the second game, even though we were using a different group of cards. While we are still working our way through the different possibilities, this has quickly become one of our favorite games.

One of the amazing aspects of the game is just how many variations of play there can be, and that's just with the base set. Not only is there the expansion that came with our set, but there are apparently about a dozen others which--according to various sites online--have a wide range of complexity that they might add to the game.

The game is played by everyone starting with their own individual base deck made of the same cards. Players then slowly use their deck to buy other cards to add to their deck that allow them to perform different actions, by even more cards, and accumulate enough victory points to win the game. Once we got the concepts down, each game seemed to take between half an hour and forty-five minutes, making it possible to get in multiple games.

Although recommended for ages 14 and above, even Rowen was enjoying the game. He is still working at how to use various cards in conjunction with one another, but he caught on to the basic idea pretty quickly. Connor, who often avoids our board game playing and initially had to be "dragged" to the table, seemed to enjoy the game as we kept playing.

I look forward to seeing how the cards we haven't used yet change the gameplay. It looks like we will be playing this game for a while.

Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

7/14/2019

Today's homily focused on the idea of obedience of God's laws. Our new pastor explained that freedom is often misrepresented as being able to do whatever you want to do whenever you want to do it regardless of the consequences. Thus, people see God's laws as being restrictive of their "freedom." Instead, people who follow their own whims are actually slaves to the desire to sin--which is referred to by the Church as concupiscence--while God's laws provide a type of instruction booklet that helps people live healthy and fulfilling lives.

The primary law presented in today's first reading is to return to God with all your heart and all your soul. This is expanded upon in today's Gospel to include loving your neighbor as yourself. The first reading states that one does not need to look far for God, His law, or His love, but that they are patiently waiting near you, ready for your acknowledgement. In the Gospel, Jesus qualifies what is meant by love your neighbor by using the story of the Good Samaritan.

Following God's law means not turning a blind eye to the suffering of others. It means not being focused on our own desires. It means not being so filled with self-righteousness and religion that we fail to deal with the needs of those less fortunate than us. In Jesus' parable, it is the Samaritan--a person at that time associated with godlessness--who follows God's law and demonstrates God's love while holy and learned men ignored them both by walking away from the man left for dead.

Obedience to God brings freedom. Freedom to us, and freedom to those we help.

Standards Based

7/13/2019

As an educator, I am often asked questions concerning my thoughts about the state of our education system. Personally, I am astounded by what our ailing educational system has managed to accomplish in the past couple of decades. With continued attacks on public education and decades of flat funding or reduced funding, we have still managed to raise nearly every metric of learning for a greater number and variety of people than has ever been accomplished in our nation's history. Seriously, the powers that be have had to raise the 100 level (median score) of IQ tests on a regular basis to deal with this success. Nor is this limited to IQ scores, but (believe it or not) students have increased in attention, personal memory, and general knowledge. Those facts don't play well with politicians who are willing to sell off our educational system for the sake of corporate welfare.

Still, there are some outmoded ideas which our educational system still uses because they are the way things have been done for hundreds of years. The biggest area that, in my opinion, needs to be changed is the age-based progression of most educational programs. Rather than allowing students to progress based off of their understanding, they are often held back or pushed forward simply due to their age. Even at the high school level, large groups of not-necessarily-related standards are lumped together in classes like English 10 or Algebra II. Students are often moved up to the next level even when it is clear that they do not understand the previous one.

A solution to this is to break up the school year into even smaller components, perhaps only three to four weeks long. These segments hold fewer changes in curriculum. For example, instead of going through six different subjects in a day, the student only goes through three or four. A good portion of this added time is given over to supervised practice. Pretests determine whether the student needs to go through a class at all or can be moved up to the next level. Formative evaluations are given throughout with summative evaluations at the halfway and end points to determine if the student has mastered the standards taught and can move on or will need to need to retake the mini-course.

This would be a scheduling nightmare, but the rewards could be substantial. Currently, students who are behind often stay behind with little chance of correction until at least a quarter of the way through the school year (sometimes a semester, sometimes an entire year). Meanwhile, students who are far advanced currently find themselves being dragged down, held in classes filled with other students who cannot grasp the concepts that they themselves have already mastered.

Currently, teachers are trying to provide this type of differentiated learning in classes of 20-30 (or, unfortunately, much more) students, each with various needs and abilities, only to have them all grouped together and moved on at the next school year. By having clear standards met, students, teachers, and parents would know where the student stood and what skills they had demonstrated. They could build a pathway through the student's education that moved the student at the pace best suited for that individual's needs.

Public education is doing well despite the deplorable circumstances forced upon it, but it could do even better.

Camp Gorsuch - Day 5 (final day)

7/12/2019

For the first time in Alaska, I saw a living bear. Our den chief was explaining Newton’s Laws of Motion using bocce balls, when he suddenly stopped staring into the distance, told the boys to gather around him, and then started yelling, “Hey! Bear!” to scare the bear off. It was a young bear and was far enough away that I didn’t get a good picture or video of it. Still, I can finally say I’ve seen a live bear in Alaska (previously, I had only seen a mother and her cub while driving in Yellowstone—and that was at a much greater distance).

The day started well with someone fixing the water heater—allowing me to finally get a warm shower. I then packed up our gear into Mera so we would be ready to go right after dinner. I was also concerned that it might rain later and did not want to pack in those conditions; however, the rain still did not show.

The boys started their day at the BB gun range where Rowen improved his shooting accuracy considerably. They then practiced their den skit (for the closing ceremony that we did not attend). From there, they went and did some chemistry, creating “Elephant toothpaste” and oobleck. Rowen was extremely careful to not make any sort of mess and was concerned when he still got food coloring on parts of his hands due to the people around him.

Following lunch was the aforementioned bear incident. When they actually got around to playing bocce ball, Rowen managed to win a round. We then had another opportunity to canoe on the lake—which was considerably cooler this time around. We wrapped up their events by playing kickball. Before dinner, our group was the color guard for the closing flag ceremony.

Rowen was eager to go home, and asked me about it the entire day. We left after dinner, made a quick Costco run, and finally got home a little while ago. We had a good time, but it is so nice to be home.

Camp Gorsuch - Day 4

7/11/2019

I’ve been having issues with my air mattress losing all of its air by the end of the night. Before going to bed, in a fit of pique, I pulled the tag that said that the mattress is not leaking and to expect some air loss the first couple of times (I don’t have the original to quote from as the tag was crumpled and trashed in the aforementioned pique fit). In doing so, I opened the exhaust vent (which was also a bit frustrating as I had just refilled the mattress). I closed it with a bit of extra force. Last night, my mattress stayed inflated. ... I don’t know if it’s a good idea for my poor self-control to be rewarded that way, but I finally had a decent night’s sleep.

Today started with a two hour nature hike. The mosquitoes tremendously enjoyed the feast we provided for them. Apparently, they considered our bug spray as a type of seasoning. From there, the Webelos met up with a second group for an epic game of capture the flag.

Following our sloppy joe lunch, the group left for a second archery session. The previous time, Rowen didn’t get a single arrow to the target. This time, nearly every shot hit the target. He was quite happy. They then played with building electrical circuits, and finished out their events by learning the actual rules to Gaga ball. Rowen managed to get to the finally three on two occasions largely by staying away from the ball entirely.

Tonight’s (and our final) Dutch oven dinner was chili with cornbread and hot dogs. It included a peach cobbler dessert. While waiting for dessert we heard a rumble of thunder, but thankfully no rain materialized.

The evening program was open forum. Kids could go to the bb range, practice archery, go boating, play Gaga ball, or climb a rock wall (Webelos only). Rowen decided to face his fears and climb the rock wall. He made it halfway up before asking to come down. He then decided to try again after watching another boy make the attempt. This time he got three-fourths of the way up, which was pretty impressive considering how much he hates heights. I deeply regretted that my phone was back in the dining hall, charging.

From there, he wanted to go to the BB gun range. He was given three balloons to pop and managed to hit all three during his time there. Considering he only hit his target once on his previous attempt, he was really proud of his accomplishment.

Last, we went to archery. Rowen asked if I would try with him. He was disappointed to not get in the center yellow circle or the red ring around it. I was just hoping to hit the target, but I managed to get two in the yellow and my other four in the red. I was even more upset that I had to leave my phone to charge.

I’ve set up my tent and belongings so that they hopefully won’t get wet should the rain that is predicted actually show.

Camp Gorsuch - Day 3

7/10/2019

Halfway through the night, we had to actually cover up in our sleeping bags. We woke to a cool, misty morning. Rowen and I got up before most of the rest of camp so we could use the showers. We unfortunately discovered that using the showers in the morning means that they do not have time to warm up. My entire shower was glacier cold (and this quick), actually leaving me numb by the end.

In comparison, the air seemed warm, so it wasn’t until the second activity (geology) that I realized I needed a sweatshirt and went to the campsite to get one. I figured they were staying in the same place like they did for their first board game activity. When I came back to where I left the group, I found the area deserted. I wandered for a while, discovering a couple of shortcuts to various locations, before I found out where they went. They were excavating a nearby hill looking for rocks and coating the freshly showered Rowen in dirt.

We then went to the BB gun range where Rowen eventually managed to hit the target. After lunch, the boys played a large scale game of gaga ball (a game akin to dodgeball, but one rolls the ball and can only hit the knee or lower). They then went to forensics where they used clues, including fingerprints, to discover that Batman stole his own Batmobile.

Our fifth activity was canoeing out on the lake. The water was extremely warm; it was almost the reverse of being on the glacier on day one. This time, heat was seeping up from the lake, making that area warmer than the rest of camp. It was still a little shocking each time Rowen sprayed me when he splashed his paddle.

The boys then ended their day activities with game of sharks and minnows which brought in some of the adults (including me towards the end). Dinner was meatball subs cooked in Dutch ovens by the boys with apple crumble cake for dessert. Rowen then spent some time playing kickball, and we went to a end program that talked about the history of Boy Scouts. The boys later entertained themselves by chasing a squirrel around the campsite while barking like dogs.

Scattered showers—perhaps thunder showers—are in the forecast for tomorrow afternoon. We will see how tomorrow goes.

Camp Gorsuch - Day 2

7/9/2019

Rowen woke up at 5am and was dressed before I realized what he was doing. It’s bright enough at that time that he didn’t realize it was so early. Thankfully, he was able to get a couple more hours of sleep.

Our Cubs and Webelos were placed in separate groups with different activities. As a Webelos, Rowen’s activities included creating a group cheer, making robots with LEGO kits, crafting paper airplanes, practicing archery, following an orienteering course, and learning how to build a fire. The boys prepared dinner (with adult help) at our campsite using charcoal and Dutch ovens.

We were extremely fortunate that it did not get as hot as yesterday. As is, we were sweating through some our activities, and the activities weren’t that strenuous. The good news is that the temperatures look like they will keep going down through the week.

I have discovered that I made an unfortunate choice in my tent location. There is a water spigot next to my site which the boys have difficulty turning off. If that wasn’t bad enough, I found a pile of strips of chicken in the mud there. It turned out that one of the kids from the other Pack at our site felt that the chicken fajitas we were making were too spicy. To solve this problem, the child tried washing the spices off of the chicken, dropped the plate and left, hoping that no one would notice.

Thankfully, I noticed.

Camp Gorsuch - Day 1

7/8/2019

We left for Rowen’s camp this morning as the smoke from the Swan Lake fire started heading in Soldotna’s direction. Some of the drive took us through dense smoke. Thankfully, keeping Mera’s air system on interior circulation kept most of the smoke out.

We stopped for lunch at Byron Glacier. The boys enjoyed a summertime snowball fight and a bit of ice sliding. They also competed to see who could keep their hand in the glacier-fed creek the longest.

The air cleared as we passed through Anchorage on our way to Mirror Lake. Unfortunately, the temperature was increasing at the same time, reaching past ninety degrees again. There didn’t seem to be a place to escape the heat once we got to camp—although I was tempted to just sit in my car as Mera has air conditioning.

Today only had a camp tour on the agenda. We set up our campsite which we are sharing with another camp and spent much of the rest of our time just hanging out. It looks like they will be keeping the boys pretty busy the rest of the week. I’m looking forward to it cooling down a bit.

Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

7/7/2019

Even though we are in the season of Ordinary Time on the Church calendar, it has not seemed ordinary at all. Last week, we said goodbye to the priest who had been pastor at Our Lady of Perpetual Help for the past decade. Today, we said hello to our new pastor, Fr. Patrick.

Change is very much a part of life, a part that keeps us moving forward, yet we seem to be programmed to rebel against it. We like knowing what to expect as having that knowledge helps us to better survive. Yet it is too easy to fall into old patterns which limit how much we can learn and grow.

In today's Gospel, Jesus sends out seventy-two disciples in a manner which they were probably not accustomed. They had to rely entirely on God providing for them through the people they visited. Unlike this weeks camping trip where Rowen and I are each bringing two bags, a tent, sleeping bags, mats, chairs, and a cooler, these disciples were to carry no bags nor even wear sandals.

Certainly, being placed into such a position would change the way these disciples viewed themselves, their mission, and those they came across. This radical change of view would doubtless make them more sympathetic to those who had a little or less than they did. It would put them in positions that would make them reevaluate their own beliefs and knowledge.

They returned rejoicing at their experience. So to do we often find ourselves growing from adversity. Often, being put in a position that is so different from what we are accustomed helps us realize things about ourselves that we would not have otherwise imagined. New experiences and changes to our daily lives can bring us unexpected rewards.

Cynical Optimist

7/6/2019

There are a few ways that I think of myself, but probably the quickest summary is that I believe I am a cynical optimist.

As an optimist, I believe that the world is headed towards a brighter future. For all of the missteps that humanity has taken over its short time on this Earth, we have also made extraordinary advancements that astound the mind that considers them. In general, the people of this world have been on a perpetual trend of becoming healthier with a higher quality of life. Despite the brief pockets of horrible violence, our world has never had a longer period of sustained peace.

Unfortunately, my cynicism does not allow me to trust many people. Although I have come to like The Sword of Truth series less and less over time, I agree with its first maxim: people are stupid--they would prefer to believe an easy lie because they fear it to be true or want it to be true rather than believe a difficult truth. Even though the far Right seems to be more prone to this as of late, I frequently see this with people posting comments with Leftist views as well.

What does this mean for me? Unlike so many people, I do not believe that the world or our nation are falling apart (at least, any more than it has in the past). Rather, I believe that by airing these problems that have long festered out of sight of most people, we have the opportunity to fix past mistakes, clear our differences, and come to amicable solutions. However, I also know that we are fighting against an extremely polarizing media which only emphasizes the "wrongness" of other people's beliefs instead of trying to come to an understanding of the issues and problems that underlie those beliefs.

I believe that we are moving towards a greater era, but that we need to work together to achieve it. I believe that we can overcome our differences and build a better tomorrow, but that it will be a hard fought battle itself to get us to stop fighting one another and start fighting our problems. I'm cynical about what people are currently saying and how they are behaving, but I'm optimistic about our chances of doing better.

Cabin Rental Issue

7/5/2019

For the most part, renting the small cabin (Serenity) on our property through AirBNB has been a good experience. The guests are usually friendly and well-behaved, the work prepping the cabin is not too tedious or time-consuming, and the supplemental income is certainly welcome.

Today's (technically yesterday's) guests were a mild acception. They did not arrive until after midnight. For some reason they parked in a manner that blocked our circle driveway instead of parking in the cabin's obvious spot. They then sent Janelle an communication through AirBNB saying that they were going to check out at noon (checkout is supposed to be at 11am). I didn't mind as we didn't have anyone coming in today. However, when I got back from town after 1pm, they were still here. As I was going to have to leave again, this time with Trevor, I was not comfortable with them staying so long.

Thus, I knocked on the door and asked if everyone was alright. One of the guests answered and said that they were just looking up directions and would leave in the next fifteen minutes. I reminded him that checkout was supposed to be at 11am, and then said that I'm glad nothing was wrong. I think that I intimidated the young man as he started quickly stuffing a bag while stuttering about how they would leave right away.

Still, they didn't leave until almost 1:45. In doing so, they backed into Janelle's garden and broke one of her decorative birds (I did not witness this, but Janelle found the aftermath this evening when watering the garden). They were then parked in our exit for a little while (I believe still looking up directions). As I had an appointment to get to, I ended up following them out all the way to Soldotna. I think that may have intimidated them even more.

They weren't bad people (I think), but this kind of disregard for other people, their time, and their property is one of the issues that can come up with these sorts of rentals. I'm glad that this sort of experience is the exception rather than the rule.

Spider-Man: Far from Home [mild spoilers]

7/4/2019

The boys and I went to the early showing of the new Spider-Man movie today. I'm certainly glad that we went to the early show as air-conditioning is not a thing here in Alaska, and we hit 90 degrees in Soldotna today (a record high temp). Even with the rising heat, the Orca's new seats are still quite comfortable and made for a pleasant experience.

The movie itself was a lot of fun. Again, Marvel has made a Spider-Man movie that manages to balance teenage romance/comedy and comic book action. The result is an enjoyable movie that is certainly worth seeing.

This movie also manages to talk about the massive loose end from Avengers: Endgame [spoiler warning for Endgame]--the return of half of the world's population five years later. Somehow this movie manages to deal with that complex issue in a short and hilarious manner that answers a number of questions such as: Are some younger siblings now physically older than their older siblings? (Yes.) and What happened to people's houses and belongings after they disappeared? (They lost it unless someone saved it; there are now charity organizations and relief programs to help those who "blipped"--the word the movie uses for disappearing for five years).

I should also note that the mid-credit scene is an absolute MUST to stay and watch. I don't just mean that it's a fun scene, but rather I think it should have been part of the main plot to begin with. The end-credits scene is also well worth staying to see; although [minor spoiler alert], you might want to see Captain Marvel first to understand some of what's going on.

While I have some quibbles with some of the characters' motivations, I genuinely enjoyed the character development that occurred even with some of the minor characters. Tom Holland again gave a masterful performance as a teenager overwhelmed by the many different forces playing on his life.

I do not put this movie at the top of the MCU's recent outings. For me, it did not have any of the absolutely great and memorable moments that Tom Holland's Spider-Man has shown in his four other outings--certainly nothing to compare to the scene between Tom Holland and Michael Keaton in the car. Still, it is entertaining and worth watching more than once, which is my main barometer for whether I recommend a movie or not. I certainly recommend this one.