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From Preps to Pros
Josh, post #20 rocks. Keep it up, brother. That’s hot! "It's a good hemlock, but not great." Socrates swallowed the hemlock as a deliberate suicide, so that is one level of the joke. I think it has more to do with the contextual irony of “good,” not “great.” These are terms of insanely detailed philosophical question in Plato, applying to city-states, men, etc. Socrates is killing himself over these terms in the first place, and hemlock’s the only way left for him to toast the highest “good.” Probably time for us all to reread Plato, but sorry Mensa guy, it ain’t sayin’ nuttin’ ‘bout biological smarts. Lall wrote: “But "stupid" is color blind, in my opinion.” And: “…but "color" is not the same as "culture." Maybe “stupid” is color blind, but we aren’t, so it is hard for us to break through. I challenge anyone who claims s/he is color blind-- (such a useless claim, Joshy! Spliffy! Stephen Colbert is being ironic!) --to think about how many times s/he has automatically locked the car doors sitting at a light when a young black male crosses the street at a light—even if he is wearing a suit. You’ve been taught to do this, and yes, it fits within the definition of “racial profiling.” I challenge you to think about how many times you’ve immediately thought less of a person’s intellectual capacity, when you hear traces of that Southern accent or some typically black vernacular on the phone. We don’t even need to get into studies for that. Just look within. Josh wrote: “NOW SD...MY QUESTIONS ARE THESE: Why is it hard to pinpoint? It shouldn't be hard, if it's an obvious bias.” 1. “They” are lazy. 2. Unlike Socrates, “They” also suffer from shortsightedness when it comes to self-examination. Raising the level of difficulty and interest factor of a curriculum, and sitting with a kid till he gets what he is capable of getting is the final solution, not hemlock or Kool-aid, the American drink of preference. Josh wrote: “Second, isn't a form of "intelligence" hearing, reading, and being exposed to various words/phrases? It is not a form of intelligence. This is called learning. Many human beings need a LOT of repetition in order to retain the information. If you go home and your parents are spouting off about Plato and Mensa jokes, you’ll retain it. If you go home and your parents are hefting cans of PBR in front of Matlock reruns, you’ll forget it. It also has to do with confidence levels. If you go home and your parents praise you, you have a better shot at remembering information than if they frequently open up cans of whuppass.— April 29, 2009 3:13 p.m.
The Movie Blog
Thanks, guys! Next time I'm sitting in front of my Blockbuster online queue, I'll have you people to jog me out of that blank stare. (Does anyone else get that brain freeze on when ordering films?...) Lall: The name of the actor who plays Hitler in The Producers is Dick Shawn. His physical humor is Dick van Dyke-like, even less inhibited. "...Love power, talkin' bout the little flower...is gonna rule the earth!" rickeysays wrote: "SDaniels you must LOVE Duncan." I DO love Duncan, but he'd probably only agree with 10% of what I wrote...if that. While I agree with 70% of what he says. Hmm. How does that work? TFB wrote: "I "Heart" Huckabees (I'd love to hear what other think of this." It was the D. Hoffman/L.Tomlin thing that bugged me the most. A sort of "hey, we're philosopher-detectives," but the premise wasn't carried out. The scenes were awkward, and very "what's my line?" Needed better, smarter dialogue. I hope this means we don't have to break up now. I'm willing to give it--and us--a second chance :) Will also pick up The Cable Guy on your fine recommend. Josh wrote: "Welcome to the Dollhouse. An indie film that never seemed to get the credit that other indie films have gotten." That is because Todd Solondz is hit or miss sometimes (seen Palindromes?!) and people who require "protagonists to root by" don't understand even when TS is handing one over. Did you see Happiness, Josh? Now there’s a Seymour (of) Hoffmann (than you might like). I like. And Neil LaBute--your Friends and Neighbors! Just as depressing as Happiness, but if you have a thing for Catherine Keener... Only place I've seen Ben Stiller do an ironic portrait that isn't slapstick. (Magicsgirl, you might like this Ben Stiller performance, if you haven't seen it?) And Jason Patric—a scary dude. Don't watch this one unless you've taken your daily Prozac and/or Midol, because no one in the film has. Did anyone see LaBute's adaptation of Possession? I read the novel many years ago; wondering about the film... I love the old Clint Eastwood spaghetti Westerns--and yes, the soundtracks, too! Ennio Morricone! Try listening to this stuff in a sensory deprivation tank. Need to update the Eastwood--Gran Torino is on my list as of today. Thanks, J! Who mentioned thrashers? I am thinking the Japanese have taken over that genre…— April 29, 2009 1:22 p.m.
Panic in Detroit...errr, New York
I live under the flight path here in SD and still get a little freaked with especially those deafening, low coasting heavy freighters! Having been there for 9/11 I can more than imagine people's reactions. Not cool.— April 29, 2009 12:21 p.m.
The Movie Blog
Herz au glas/ “Heart of Glass” (Herzog) It was hard to choose this one over Fitzcarraldo, with Herzog’s complex and filmically edible muse Klaus Kinski. But this one is visually fascinating and experimental. 70s soundtrack from Popol Vuh over whitewater falls. Everyone in this film put into deep hypnotic trance, the whole way through, so everyone enunciates and cadences a little like a slowed down Herzog himself. Myth, ritual, murder, spectacle. The villagers load up with tinkling bundles of locally made red glass, taking them down to break and toss in the river. The Producers (Mel Brooks) 100% never fails to make me laugh, though not otherwise a big fan of Mel Brooks. The remake with Lane/Broderick and Will Ferrell was a travesty! Trust me, and go with the original, with Gene Wilder and Zero Mostel. Dr. Strangelove (Kubrick) For all of the reasons anyone ever invokes for watching this film, and for Peter Sellers. Don’t worry! It won’t “sap your precious bodily fluids.”— April 28, 2009 1:54 p.m.
The Movie Blog
These aren’t necessarily my top fives. I just feel like talking about these at the moment, and didn’t place them in any particular order. Synecdoche New York (Charlie Kaufman) I was a dropper “by the wayside,” and did “wave the film on to finish on its own,” as Duncan Shepard remarks, until I found myself not recommending it to a friend for all of the wrong reasons. This film is concussively self-reflexive, self-indulgent and overlong, but it merits the second viewing for the right reason--Phillip Seymour Hoffmann’s performance. He’s a theatre director, as he is in real life, but with mysterious ailments that interfere with his relations with others, and a MacArthur grant that allows him to play out his entire life in a Freudian-rich scenario of a spectator-less, never-ending play in a series of soundstages. Hence the “synecdoche;” whole for the part, part for the whole. Katherine Keener’s wife/ex-wife character, who makes art so miniature you have to use a magnifying glass to view it. The self-help therapist played by Hope Davis is not to be missed, with her hearty disjunct bluster and odd affectation of (odd affect abounds in this film) anticipating Hoffmann’s next word, and actually speaking over it, reacting at almost the same nanosecond he speaks. Also, the Freudian metaphor-come-to-life of living in a house perpetually on fire. Julien Donkey Boy (Harmony Korinn) It was hard to choose between this film and Korinn’s “Gummo.” Hanging out at the local misfit center with lots of non-actors, everyone hooting and clapping “I’m a black Albino, straight from Alabama.” Chloe Sevigny, Madonna-like, innocently pregnant with her schizophrenic brother’s child, singing in a shining field of wheat, or shopping for onesies at the local goodwill, the actress with real camera hidden in her mumu to catch filmic gems. Werner Herzog huffing aerosol and dancing in his dead wife’s dress and WWII gas mask, and his “pep” talk to the son who aspires to wrestle more than garbage receptacles. “You have to outwrestle them. Outrun them, out (pushes over bin) plastic them!” “You must outplastic them!” Eraserhead (Lynch) One of Lynch’s tightest, most cohesively beautiful film, aside from Mullholland Drive. B&W, with plenty of silent film closeups on Henry’s apprehensive features. “Henry’s” idlike dinosaur-like “baby” creature shot with homemade visual effects. You might find yourself repeating lines from this, ad nauseum. Mrs. X: What do you do, Henry? Henry: Me? I’m well, oh, I’m on vacation. (expression of abject fear) Mrs. X: Well, what DID you do? Mary: He’s in the printing business, mom. Mrs. X: Yes, it SOUNDS very clever. And who could forget the cottage cheese-faced lady in the radiator, with that fantastic soundtrack? “In Heaven, everything is fine…”— April 28, 2009 1:54 p.m.
From Preps to Pros
"But it just gets so damn frustrating listening to people talk about why certain people do worse on those tests." "Seriously. It's stuff like that that just gets old." Josh, I'm sorry you are hounded night and day--damn, sounds like it's hard to get that cup of coffee in! What is an interlocutor to do with such statements? "But when companies have tests, and certain people don't pass them...do we really need to "wonder" if something is wrong with the test?" Look, you started to answer your own question, but some kind of bias seems to be plugging up the works. It is as though this issue has hold of a little string, and threatens to unravel an entire complex of issues for you. Maybe if I convinced you on this one, you'd then have to reconsider your firmly cemented stance on cultural bias in general--without resorting to crying "conspiracy theory" as I've seen you do. And the problem with me is that I am too lazy to upload you on that large a file, especially when it appears that you don't really care. Do a little mental yoga, Josh! Grow up a little, find some journalistic integrity! It's not cool to make childish and irresponsible statements, and then expect others to clean up your arguments for you, so you can then bow out and say, "Wow you changed my mind. I'm not above changing my mind. See how flexible I am?" That just makes one look foolish and empty, like a paper judge sitting on a prison-made three-legged bench. Unless you're truly willing to do the work, and do your part, why not just keep these columns light and fun?— April 28, 2009 12:53 p.m.
From Preps to Pros
Josh wrote: "None of the tests show "clear cultural bias." That's crap." Really, Josh? I know you have a column entitled "Off the Cuff," but I'm not used to people dismissing information as "crap" before doing some research, unless they just want to blow some biscuit. Josh wrote: "Now, they have all that taken care of." Well, it's nice to know that "they" have been hard at work since the "early days." Four-score and...? Certainly we have nothing to worry about, then, with all references to "stereos" (?) and "lobster bisques" now removed, along with the remnants of "British-ified" diction. Yep, that should do 'er. And it's so easy to dismiss, too, because we don't have to worry about having kids read passages from social studies, literature, and historical documents of which neither the language or context make sense to them. Josh wrote: "And if people aren't scoring as high on the test, it's because they aren't as smart. Simple as that." Simple as that. Wow. Genes win out every time. Let's just drop that bull about "nurture." I guess we don't need any aptitude studies, or further attempts at betterment of our educational system. Let's just assume that "they" took care of it when they updated all of the tests, and created brilliant templates that apply to all developmental stages of the young human mind, regardless of upbringing, contextual understanding, and not to mention state and school district. Now that the grail has been delivered, we shouldn't have any more problems. Yep, that'll do 'er. That said, I should update my own understanding about standardized testing, as it has been about fifteen years since I studied anything about it--and that was in the context of cultural studies. I can say that I tutored SAT tests about five years ago. Problems. I think I'll stick to "chat"--don't need the supplemental dysbiosis. Later.— April 28, 2009 2:47 a.m.
From Preps to Pros
Sorry, I doubt Adam Carolla said anything best. Josh, thanks in advance for putting up with the old English teacher's two more cents on your sports blog, and thanks for the honorable mention, lallaw. My two more cents: Who's against a story of a kid from the projects earning millions through working hard to develop his innate, superior physical coordination? Not me, unless he's doing it at a college and not studying his ass off, too. Seat warmers should not be welcome. That's all I have against college sports/sports scholarships, as per reasons stated above in #7. (Except that there is occasionally overloud soccer at my place). Lallaw wrote: "Problem is, unless mental retardation is clearly apparent, how do you know a kid can "never" learn unless the kid gets a chance?" No matter what Deepak Chopra et. al. might say, everyone has a limited intellectual potential. Until a child is given a chance, as you say, we'll never know its scope. If we ever get a clue, we'll improve our weak public early education, and push them all hard with a comprehensive liberal prescription. I like the Mae Carden method, minus an overly competitive emphasis. Lallaw wrote: "Choosing education isn't the litmus test: obtaining an education is. We have to choose the discipline for them, I think." Well, it 'works' in Europe, where they have a different tracking system (I know only a bit about France, England, Germany)--they seem to split tracks at even earlier ages in some countries. I've spoken to a variety of people about this topic, but haven't thought about it in quite a while. This kind of tracking has always made me uneasy, though not as uneasy as some of our own standardized testing, which shows clear cultural bias (hey Spliff! where are ya on that one!)as well as arbitrary expectations of one's knowledge base.— April 28, 2009 12:16 a.m.
Police Officer Shootings
I'll get on it. Looking for the "Palm Springs" style sectional myself; preferably with flamingo pattern or a meaty coral color.— April 27, 2009 11:17 p.m.
What have you done that most people haven't?
a2zresource (is that your truck I see tooling around the neighborhood, then?) I feel as though we should salute you--let your acronyms be your cyber-decorations!— April 27, 2009 11:13 p.m.