More Than Meets the Eye

I had the privilege of seeing the premier showing of Transformers last night.

In Short:
It was probably one of the greatest--if not THE greatest--movies I've ever seen.

In Long:
Michael Bay was obviously the right guy for the job. His directing was superb. The lighting, the angles and the performance he was able to pull from the actors was just great.

The story line was intriguing, though not flawless. The special FX were FANTASTIC. I mean BEYOND fantastic. Eventually you forget that you're looking at CGI and you just watch the film for what it is.

I loved how the transformers (especially Starscream) would transform in mid flight and land. Just amazing stuff. The whole move was one HUGE battle after another. Rarely was there a dull spot in the movie. Constant action. Constant amazing cinematography.

The Cheese Factor:
There were a FEW cheesy moments in the movie. Some of the dialogue was a bit over the top and made me groan. And every time Optimus spoke there was this cheesy music that would swell up behind him as if to suggest that every word he spoke was so terribly noble and awe-inspiring.

I won't talk about the few things I didn't like because I don't want to spoil it for you. Just do yourself a favor and GO SEE THIS MOVIE. It truly is: more than meets the eye.

The Saddest Part of Teaching

As a teacher I have seen some of the saddest things. I grew up in a home in which education was considered important and I had parents who actually cared about where I was and what I did. Saddly, this is not the case for MANY of today’s youth.

I teach a guitar class. Half of the students in the class are currently failing. Another third of the class had a D or C. Very few have B’s or A’s.

Now, keep in mind that this is an elective course. There is NO homework and 80% of the points come purely from coming to class and participating (trying on some level). Still, kids just don’t care, and it breaks my heart to see it.

Example 1: I ask “Stephen” to come up and play a 4 measure melody for me that we’ve been working on for 2 straight class periods (3 hours). 4 beats per measure equals about 16 notes the he had 3 hours to learn to play in order. He gets there, stares at the music and has no idea where to start. “I don’t know how to do this,” he says. “Okay, what is the name of this first note?” I ask. “Oh, that one… I can’t remember that one,” he responds. “That was the very first note we ever learned in this class at the beginning of the 1^st semester and we’ve played it unceasingly every day since then,” I explain. “I’ll just take a zero,” he decided.

Sad. Just sad.

Example 2: Every day my students have to do a journal. Basically I put a few questions on the board for them to answer. What is the name of this note? How many beats are in a 4/4 measure, etc. They write down whatever they think are the right answers and then we review them. At the end of the month we turn in all the journals. Note: the student gets FULL credit for turning in the journals at ALL. All the answers could be made up and have nothing to do with the question and they will still get full credit. I have told them this many times. I’ve pleaded with them to understand that right or wrong they get ALL the points for just turning it in.

…you guessed it: only about 1/3 of the class turns them in. CAN YOU BELIEVE THAT!?!? It’s a full 10% of their grade and they CHOOSE not to turn them in.

I have so many students like this (mostly in guitar, my choir students are pretty good). They don’t care about their grades and it stems from their home life. They obviously have parents who aren’t involved in their lives, and THAT’s what saddens me the most. These poor kids don’t have parents who check their grades or explain to them what responsibility is. I wonder if their parents even know they still live in the same house with them.

Now I understand that there are students whose parents do care and they still fail. But when I’m offering a FREE passing grade just for handing me a notebook regardless of what’s in it, and they choose not to do it… it goes to show that they don’t care, and obviously nobody else does either.

Take Responsibility - Stop Saying "you"

Okay, today's post is a rant. Have you ever noticed that people constantly use the pronoun "you" when referring to events that they experienced themselves? Why don't people take responsibility for themselves?

Here are a few examples:

Example #1
When asked: "What was so good about that movie?" a person responds: Well you can really get into it. You sit there watching it and you feel the emotion of the score and then you get all teary eyed and you...

Do you see what I mean? I didn't "really get into it." I didn't sit there and I didn't feel the emotion... YOU did, so say it!

A better response would have been: Well I can really get into it. I sat there watching it and I felt the emotion of the score and then I got all teary eyed and I...

Example #2
When you're in a position like mine, you have to really try hard to do your best. If you don't, then the boss will catch you not doing your job and you'll be fired.

How about you take responsibility for yourself. Try this instead:

When in a position like mine, I have to really try hard to do my best. If I don't, then my boss will catch me not doing my job and I'll be fired.

Example #3
I like to play the guitar because you learn how to read music, and you can play songs from the bands you like and then you might be able to start your own band.

Try this instead:

I like to play the guitar because I learn how to read music, and I can play songs from the bands I like and then I might be able to start my own band.

So take my advice: take responsibility for yourself. Don't say "you," say "I."

Nintendo Wii = The Matrix

So I had a thought the other day. The Nintendo Wii is really cool from what people tell me. As usual, Nintendo is trying to be the first gaming system to take the first step in virtual reality gaming. Now you can go bowling or hunting right from your living room. Who needs to go out when you've got great home theater systems and even tennis courts and fishing ponds right in your own house?

The gaming revolution will only get bigger and better. Soon, we'll have virtual reality glasses to put on and games will be in 3D. Then We'll be able to start smelling and feeling the worlds of our games. When you want to go bowling with friends in another state, you just hook up online in your virtual reality world.

Before you know it, the gaming world will overtake our own. You can live in a mansion in your virtual world. Why not? You can see it, feel it, smell it, design it, etc. And if that house is so much better than your own, why not live there, and add a feeding tube to your arm so you don't die from "playing" your game to long.

You see where this is going, don't you? Before long, we'll be living in the world of the Matrix--with all humans hooked up to virtual reality computers, living out our lives and forgetting about the real world behind us.

...and it's all because of the first pioneer steps of the Nintendo Wii.

Lincoln Vs. Kennedy

Okay this is some of the most incredible stuff you'll ever read. It's seriously erie:

The following information was gathered from this website.

Look what happens when a President gets elected in a year with a "0" at the end.

1840: William Henry Harrison (died in office)
1860: Abraham Lincoln (assassinated)
1880: James A. Garfield (assassinated)
1900: William McKinley (assassinated)
1920: Warren G. Harding (died in office)
1940: Franklin D. Roosevelt (died in office)
1960: John F. Kennedy (assassinated)
1980: Ronald Reagan (survived assassination attempt)
2000: George W. Bush ????????????

And to think that we had two guys fighting it out in the courts to be the one elected in 2000.

You might also be interested in this.
Have a history teacher explain this if they can.

Abraham Lincoln was elected to Congress in 1846.
John F. Kennedy was elected to Congress in 1946.

Abraham Lincoln was elected President in 1860.
John F. Kennedy was elected President in 1960.

Both were particularly concerned with civil rights.
Both wives lost their children while living in the White House.

Both Presidents were shot on a Friday.
Both Presidents were shot in the head.

Both were assassinated by Southerners.
Both were succeeded by Southerners named Johnson.

Andrew Johnson, who succeeded Lincoln, was born in 1808.
Lyndon Johnson, who succeeded Kennedy, was born in 1908.

John Wilkes Booth, who assassinated Lincoln, was born in 1839.
Lee Harvey Oswald, who assassinated Kennedy, was born in 1939.

Both assassins were known by their three names.
Both names are composed of fifteen letters.

Now hang on to your seat.

Lincoln was shot at the theater named "Ford."
Kennedy was shot in a car called "Lincoln" made by "Ford."
Booth and Oswald were assassinated before their trials.

Think that's crazy? This is the just tip of the iceberg! There are over 100 more similarities between the two that you can find by clicking here.
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My best theory is that this is all a glitch in the Matrix.