Blog Archives - The Land of the Weird

The Land of the Weird

Cast Parties

11/16/2019

As I am waiting for Chloe to return from her cast party, I'm reminded of the cast parties that I attended when I was in high school. By far, the most lavish of them was one of the cast parties (because there were several) for Pirates of Penzance (at least, I think it was Pirates and not South Pacific).

As the musical was a community players event rather than a high school one, the parties were more than going to the local Little Caesars (although I still enjoyed the one for Fiddler, but I got a lot of attention as a main lead). The one that I'm thinking about was held in one of the adult cast member's homes. It was an amazing house. I remember that it's vaulted living room was enormous and that it had one of the longest counters I had ever seen in a kitchen.

Aside from just having fun talking and laughing with my fellow cast members, this party was also the first time that I had ever done karaoke. I think I only sang one song, but with a large group of singers around, there was certainly competition for the single microphone.

The memory is has become clouded in my mind, but it's still one that I cherish. I remember being both extremely happy and a bit sad. We still had another performance or two, but I knew that something special was coming to an end, never to be completely replicated. While I'm still in contact with some of my friends from that time period because they went to my school, I never saw most of that cast again. I'm still happy that we were a part of each other's lives even if for such a brief time.

Beauty and the Beast

11/15/2019

One of the things that Chloé asked to do before she even came here was to be a part of the school musical. While she keeps saying that she can’t sing (which isn’t true), she said she wanted to have the experience. Tonight was their second show (they have one more tomorrow), and they did a great job.

The songs, dancing, acting, costumes, sets, and sound were all done well. Chloé seemed to be having an especially good time. Her dancing skills were certainly on display and her lines of singing proved false her claims to not be able to sing. She got to be a villager, a wolf, and a trident (supposedly a fork, but she only had three tines).

There’s still one more show if you want to go see it.

Snow[!]

11/14/2019

Shhhh ... I don't want to scare off the snow again like I clearly did with my excitement in the middle of October. I am surprised at how shy the snow has been this year, and I certainly do not want it to retreat again. Thus, I will muffle my enthusiasm again.

I was a little worried when I woke up as the snow that was falling at the time was making pelting sounds as it hit the ground that reminded me more of ice pellets than flakes. Thankfully, by the time we got to the car an hour and a half later, the flakes were fluffier and had accumulated over an inch. Chloe was again happy enough to do a couple of little dances at the sight.

I wore my snow sweater today as encouragement and support for my favorite type of precipitation even though my classroom has been warm enough that I recently switched back to wearing Hawaiian shirts (which make an interesting fashion choice when I wear my parka over them). It seemed to help as the snow continued sporadically throughout the day.

I did not make last year's mistake by not shovelling this first (well, second) snowfall. I had a solid couple of inches of hardened ice coating my driveway all last winter. To avoid that, I went out and got in my steps. I also seem to have twisted my ankle and formed a small blister in the process, but such are prices that I gladly pay for having snow.

Impeachment Inquiries [surprisingly, not really controversial]:

11/13/2019

Whatever one might feel about the impeachment, the reasons and politics behind it, or our current President and Congress, it is clear that we are in the middle of an event that will be remembered in future history books (assuming there are still books in the future). This is only the fourth time in our nation that an impeachment inquiry has taken place (although Johnson's was so fast as to be almost non existent).

In two of the previous times, the President under investigation was impeached; however, in neither of those impeachments was the President removed from office (although Johnson only held onto his job by one vote). The third previous inquiry was the only one to lead to a President leaving office; although, Nixon did so before he was actually impeached (largely because he was just about to be).

In all four cases, the House of Representatives has been under the control of the party opposite the President. In all of the inquiries, the minority party in the House claimed that the proceedings were politically motivated (although many Republicans joined Democrats and voted for the impeachment inquiry to begin for Nixon). For those who enjoy numbers, the steps of impeachment were brought by the 39th, 93rd, 106th, and 116th Congresses against the 17th, 37th, 42nd, and 45th Presidents (I notice the events are happening closer together).

It will be interesting to see how these events will be viewed 31, 45, or even 151 years from now (assuming that we still have years in the future). I'm certainly interested to see what even the next year will bring.

Driving and Waiting

11/12/2019

I’m sitting in the SoHi lot, waiting for Chloé to get out of practice for the play which is performing this week. I’ve been either driving or waiting a lot today. In hindsight, I probably could have gone up to my classroom and gotten a little bit done rather than sitting here.

As the joke goes, hindsight is kind of my superpower. It’s not a really helpful superpower ... I see that now.

The good thing about this this time spent driving and waiting is that it gives me time to think. So often our modern world, with its many distractions, leaves little time for us to reflect. These peaceful moments should be something that I learn to harness to right myself more with God and my universe.

... Except I’m so [expletive deleted] BORED!

Weird Weather

11/11/2019

I can't help but notice all of my Michigan (and other Midwestern) friends and relatives posting about the amount of snow that they've received or are in the process of receiving. I felt a bit of envy as messages regarding school closures hit my feed. Meanwhile, complaints that the snow totals are well past the x inches predicted have been prevalent as well.

Up here in the Kenai Peninsula of Alaska? No snow. I was excited the other day to see my lawn covered in frost. Facebook sent me a reminder that two years ago on this date, I was out sledding with the boys. The best in the forecast is a wintery mix (possible ice rain) this coming Wednesday and Thursday. The Weather Channel has it simply listed as rain.

I was too eager when we received several inches back in mid October. The weather seems to acting coy with me. I don't know what I did to offend it, but I hope it knows that I'm sorry for whatever it was. I'm certain that most of the Midwest joins in my preference that the winter weather came back to Alaska.

Thirty-Second Sunday in Ordinary Time

11/10/2019

Janelle mentioned that one of her favorite lines comes from the end of today's Gospel reading. Coming from Luke 20:27-38, the line is that God "is not God of the dead, but of the living, / for to Him all are alive." Our existence in this world, though important, is but a brief part of our true lives. Those that have gone before us are not dead, but living in God's care.

Today's homily spoke about our consciences, the whisperings within us that help us find the absolute Truth and Good in a world full of equivocations. The brothers being tortured in the First Reading from the Second Book of Maccabees were following their consciences regarding their faith. They were unwilling to deny their faith in the face of torture and death. They knew that God would restore them in the Resurrection, so there was nothing for them to fear.

We are called to live our lives in a way that gives our consciences no reason to twinge. We know what we should do; it's just a matter of finding the strength to actually do it. God is willing to give us His strength should we ask of it. Meanwhile, we have the support of all of those in God's care. That's a lot of help on our side that we can leverage to do what is right.

Eagle

11/9/2019

Three young men were officially given the rank of Eagle Scout in our troop today. Two out of three of them were former students of mine, and the other is the son of friends of mine. The ceremony was pretty on point and the food to celebrate was good (especially the brisket). I brought Connor and Rowen along--in uniform even. I was pleasantly surprised to find that both of them were glad that they went.

I never made it to Eagle Scout. Although my regret on this matter is small, it is there nonetheless. While there were reasons for me leaving scouts when I did, not making it to Eagle feels like I left a piece of my life incomplete. I wonder if that might be an underlying reason why I want to get a doctorate.

Connor and Rowen both think that they would like to become Eagle Scouts, but Connor said that it will depend on how things go in the next few years. Honestly, I find that to be a very mature view. How knows what life might bring?

Allusions

11/8/2019

At the suggestion of my student teacher, I am including selections from the Rubaiyat--a collection of poems attributed to (but likely not written by) Omar Khayyam over 900 years ago*--in my English 10 (World Literature) course. To my knowledge, I had never read them before today. However, I was immediately struck by their familiarity. It seems that allusions to these poems have been a part of my life more than I realized.

One line "... A Jug of Wine, a Loaf of Bread--and Thou ... " has been rattling around in my head since I was Rowen's age. I immediately recognized it as a pickup line of Garfield's owner in one of the earlier Garfield strips (I used to own and continually reread all of the Garfield books that I could find). I was even able to find the strip.

More surprisingly, we JUST YESTERDAY watched an episode of The Big Bang Theory that referenced this poem:

The Moving Finger writes; and, having writ,
Moves on: nor all your Piety nor Wit
Shall lure it back to cancel half a Line,
Nor all your Tears wash out a Word of it.

A low quality video of the pertinent scene from The Big Bang Theory can be found here.

It amazes me how little bits and pieces of history and literature float around in our periphery without our having any knowledge of them. I think this is one of the things I like most about being a student (and teacher) of the humanities. Each little crumb of knowledge widens my view of the world and of myself.

*Note: Not only did Khayyam probably not write most of the poems, but the most famous English translation of them (by Edward Fitzgerald in 1859) which we will use in class was focused more on the spirit of the poems than their actual content. Thus, the poems we are going to read are only kind of similar to the poems that were probably not written by this famous Persian scholar. The selection we are going to read is here.

Sore Loser

11/7/2019

As most of you who have played a game with me know, I am a terrible loser. I gripe and whine when poor luck hits in the game. I have bouts of temper tantrums, swearing fits, accusations (sometimes justified) of cheating, and (largely checked) rage. While some people find a comic edge--or perhaps a gleeful delight--in my fits, most people agree that I am not pleasant to be around during those times ... including myself.

What you may not know is that I hate it when I get that way. The rational portion of my brain is clearly aware of how childish I am acting and vividly records the moments to later replay over and over again. I hate that I'm reacting that way and yet cannot seem to stop myself from doing so. If I try especially hard, I can sometimes manage to at least not get worse than sullen.

I don't know why I care so much about winning. In most cases, it is--in fact--"just a game." Yet, I cannot seem to disconnect the idea that winning or losing is somehow tied to my personal value. It certainly drives me to try and win more often, but even that drive can be a source of frustration for me. I would like very much for it to be "just a game," to enjoy the time spent no matter the outcome, and to be gracious no matter who wins.

I'm just getting through the neurochemical letdown from a devastating loss at The Quacks of Quedlinburg (for which, sincere thanks go to Bj for recommending--it's a massive hit in our house). I not only lost, but I came in last place (Rowen triumphed over all). My potion exploded on five of the nine rounds. During the sixth round, I only pulled white tokens (the ones that make the pot explode) in the order of 3, 2, 1, 1, and 2. The odds of that happening are about one to six hundred. ... Honestly, I just had to unclench my jaw because I was thinking about it [I had to do so again while I was revising].

I would like to be better at losing graciously. I can usually calm down in a few minutes after the game comes to a conclusion and I do realize that I still enjoyed the game and the company. At that point, I try to remember to congratulate the winner and express the fact that I did enjoy the experience, but I know that the damage has been done. Thus, should you win a game against me and get a grudgingly proffered congratulations, realize that I am mentally beating myself up over my behavior.

At least I haven't flipped a table in a couple of decades ...

Unwatched Movies

11/6/2019

Like my pile of unplayed video games, my pile of unwatched movies is also growing. There are still some movies that we got back when we lived in Burr Oak that we haven't seen, but it's the more recent ones that I haven't seen which are bothering me.

In particular, I have "Won't You Be My Neighbor," "Christopher Robin," and "The Darkest Hour" still sitting in cellophane. These are all movies that I would really like to see, but Janelle's and my chances for watching any kind of movie together are limited, and I don't like watching movies alone. Meanwhile, it's easier and quicker to pop in a television episode than to commit to a two hour or more session.

This is one of the reasons I like setting up my marathon sessions. It gives me an excuse to watch movies that I enjoy seeing, but might not otherwise make time to sit and watch. Perhaps, I should set up a marathon run of movies I own, but haven't seen.

Environmental Capital

11/5/2019

I don't understand why Alaska isn't more on board with the concept of creating environmental credits. Sure, the idea is a difficult one to implement, but the only way to get capitalistic businesses truly interested in environmental concerns is to make it so the environment itself is a type of capital. Certainly, our environment already has an intrinsic value, but not in a way that businesses have to take into account (aside from publicity and lawsuits).

Let's imagine that some sort of environmental credit system is created to monetize maintaining a biodiverse, pollution-free environment. Alaska would certainly benefit. Yes, there are industries in Alaska that might have to purchase this credit for the environmental cost of their operations, but so much of this beautiful, pristine state would now generate revenue beyond just tourism. In no time, Alaska's primary source of revenue would be its natural wonders. Meanwhile, conservation jobs would become desirable professions--in Alaska and the world over.

Considering the number of useless things which currently hold a great deal of value in our world's economic systems, I believe that putting a direct financial cost and price on maintaining a healthy environment makes a great deal of sense. As we would benefit in numerous ways from said system, I am truly surprised that more people are not advocating for it. Even if one ignores the dire predictions that many climate experts are urgently stating, rewarding the caretaking of our planet should be the clear moral choice.

P/T Conferences Fall 2019

11/4/2019

With Halloween falling on a Thursday--the traditional day for parent-teacher conferences--the calendar committee decided to try an experiment this year. Instead of having conferences on Thursday and professional development on Friday, we had professional development on Friday and conferences on the following Monday. This makes for a long start to the week.

I don't know the official numbers, but parent turnout was low for me, lower even than the traditionally low spring conferences. Still, it was good to see the parents that I did get to see. Better still was when students accompanied their parents and I was able to tell them how much I enjoyed having them in my class(es).

However, I think I'm going to need coffee tomorrow.

Thirty-First Sunday in Ordinary Time

11/3/2019

When I was in high school, my mother convinced me to write and direct a couple of religious plays for the 5th/6th grade (I think) catechism class that they could put on for the younger students. One was the story of the prodigal son, the other was today's Gospel story of Zacchaeus in the tree. If I recall correctly, I used puppets for the second one. Anyway, I've always felt a connection to these Gospel stories, probably because of the time I spent writing and directing them.

Both stories are about sinners seeking redemption. In both, the sinners are greeted warmly while others are bitter about their acceptance. Thus, each story emphasizes that God is unconditionally loving in ways that defies humankind's sense of justice or logic.

For today's homily, we were treated to a visit from our interim archbishop from Juneau. We are still waiting for the Pope to confirm a new archbishop for our diocese. In his homily, Bishop Bellisario discussed the importance of humility and how we gain humility through the Holy Spirit's gift of the fear of God.

In our culture, there has been a great deal of negativity about the phrase "fear of God" or the description "God-fearing." Why should anyone fear a just and loving God? Yet, I feel that oversimplified logic does not take the human experience into account. The truth is that we often seek out fear as a means to test our limitations. We use fear as a means to understand our boundaries and to warn us away from danger. Fear, in itself, is not an evil thing. In fact, I would warn that those without fear are those who are the greatest danger to themselves and others.

As for humility, that is certainly an area where I could use improvement. Certainly, this year has been a bit humbling as I am struggling to keep my family, health, job, and schooling balanced. However, I still tend to look down on those who do not agree with my viewpoints. I need to be more humble and open-minded if I truly want to be a better person.