Group Rights

“You have to remember, rights don't come in groups we shouldn't have 'gay rights'; rights come as individuals, and we wouldn't have this major debate going on. It would be behavior that would count, not what person belongs to what group.” 
― Ron Paul

Help, My Participle is Dangling!

Does art imitate life or does life imitate art?

I've been watching TV for quite a while, hours in fact. In that brief time I've been witness to a series of assaults on something we all hold dear, something that is as much a part of our life as anything ever has, or ever will be. It’s a code we pass to our children as individuals, as a community, and as a culture.

Lately, though, I've noticed the standards we held people to in the past are dropping.

There are always local deviations within a culture as large as ours, that is to be expected. They could be regional or sub-cultural differences, with smaller variations depending on population density (meme level); new parts constantly are emerging, traversing ever finer filtering as they spread, if they have what it takes they gain wider and wider acceptance; once established they will rise and fall in popularity, eventually earning spots in the numerous listings that are used to validate them.

Though the parts change, the rules for their use remain broad, simple in concept, often difficult and illogical in application. This is to be expected when something is this vital to the survival of our species, the growth and survival to be sure. It would certainly be a critical part of how our species rose to prominence, whether planned or unplanned, and how it plans on remaining there.

A question came to me while watching TV: Are the scriptwriters aware of their dangling participles?

I would be afraid to try and edit any of this. We read Huckleberry Finn and find the language quaint, but was it the way they spoke or is it the way Twain wanted us to believe they spoke? If the latter, isn't art affecting culture instead of reflecting life?

I've often paraphrased Leslie Slote in “Winds of War” when I point to art, in the broadest usage possible, as the “exhaust gas” of our civilization; that by examining this gas we can see the workings of the culture that produced it.

What, then, does our exhaust gas say?

Thank Stephen King for the Twi-Night-Double-Header

Enjoying language, as I do, it seems that I’m always finding words (finding, not discovering) that are little, or improperly, used in every day life (some may question my use of “every day” vs. “everyday”, it depends on which word I want emphasized) or I just like to hear. I spent years safely ensconced behind walls of mediocrity (having written it out for the first time I can see it’s unclear; intent is: my incredible genius and faultless humility are being held by those blind to my incredible genius and faultless humility) just because I enjoy the flow. 

In this light, I have used the word “sabbatical” in describing my Unabomber like drop from reality. I was still in a reality, of sorts, but it was one where technology means you have a phone in your home. I swear this is true, you’ve been warned, my cell would not work unless you drove several miles from town. I see you’re all asking me which direction you would need to drive, but unless up or down are common directions you use, IT WOULDN'T MATTER! 

You could select any of the cardinal directions and be fine, once the Children of the Corn vibe wears off the cell works great. I also had the opportunity to test the “two tomato cans and string” internet that I had heard so much about. I now believe Vice-President Gore may actually have helped here. 

Submitted for your approval, a man devotes his life to technology and its uses. 

He one day wakes to find his window on the world blocked. 

Blocked by those black-hole-like drapes my parents used during the black outs. 

He has left the modern world and entered the Twi-Night Double-Header. 

Rest assured when I say sabbatical, I mean it in all its classic glory. Teachers need to step away from teaching for their sanity and to better their craft. It wasn’t uncommon for teachers then to visit the Holy Land, tour Civil War Battlefields, or just tour the Continent. 

You need to step away to watch the forest for awhile. 

I believe this is necessary in any calling, pretentious but true, similar to teaching (police, fire, military, and many others; a place where the reward is not money, but most often less) where the act itself is the reward. If any of you give me that “Summer Vacation” crap I’ll slap you; I worked more during summer because I loved it. 

I still say, “So, you’ll pay me to talk to a group of young people AND they’ll be required by law to at least pretend to listen attentively, okay listen? Sign me up.” I love what I do, it's why I’m here. 

I can’t dunk a basketball. 

I help people learn. Sadly, dunking earns more money… Wait, on the sideline you have coaches, they are teachers! 

You may follow on your own that last thread. Hit me later and we’ll fully explore that. Is it what we help people learn that matters? 

Anyway, I help young people learn. I do it because it’s what I do. 

Oh, I can help older people, but few of us really want to learn; far too many, including me, have decided things and once you decide something you don’t need to think about it. Young people are far more likely to be willing to think about things because there are so few real decisions they’ve actually made; so most questions are still unanswered to them. 

Sigh. 

I had lost my “childlike sense of awe and wonder” and only learners can help you learn. I believe that is probably the biggest difference I’ve noticed between those that can and those that teach. I had lost my mojo and the classroom isn't the place for going through the motions.


My sabbatical ending, I look ahead to what I’ll do next. I don’t know for sure if I can still do that voodoo.

I’m like Elvis: am I the tan, leather-clad 1968 Comeback Special Elvis, am I the 1973 “From Hawaii” mature Elvis, or am I the sad, sick Elvis that left us (I love Elvis, so no nasty notes) far too soon.

I don’t know.

I will only be using this blog; I’ll keep the others, they’re still awesome resources, but this is where I’ll try to keep a running commentary of my attempt to merge with reality. I’ll be looking to do some subbing, maybe get together with some old friends and do a project or something, just trying to merge.
I hope I've still got.

If you need, or want, to chew me out for something, your best bet is to comment here. You can join the hundreds of e-mails I ignore if you wish. I respect the right for people to make poor decision