Author: admin

I’m going to talk about students for a little bit.

There seems to be a pattern emerging with my class attendance. On the days that work is due in class I lose anywhere between 8 -12 of the up to 16 students in a given class. This is a persistent repeating habit. When work is due the kids are not there. Today this truth applied to all of my classes. Perhaps they thought if they didn’t show up they could turn the paper in late and still get the full credit for the work. Nope, that is high school styled nonsense right there.

I don’t do that.

I will say this: I teach four levels of English and the final level of ENG had more absence emails (and more absences) than my first level class. The first level folks simply didn’t bother to explain not showing up. I have an absence policy and a late work policy, but that high school mentality means that these kids will all show up on Wednesday claiming not to know or understand the policy and expecting to turn their work in. That culture has to change.

The Box Trolls is a 2014 british children’s comedy directed by Anthony Stacchi and Graham Annable and featuring the voice work of known stars such as Simon Pegg, Ben Kingsley, and Elle Fanning. I expected the film to be cute and delightful. What I got was another glimpse into the surprisingly intelligent world of today’s kids films. Not all kids films are intelligent. Often you’re expected to sit there and enjoy a mostly meaningless explosion of color and light that tries, halfheartedly, to make some type of rote moral statement.  The Box Trolls seem to fall victim to this completely as an afterthought–a none to subtle tip of the hat ending that says, “Oh, and if you’re stupid then this is exactly the message we are trying to send.” Only the message they are actually trying to send is far deeper.

The film is constructed largely as a condemnation on societies (like ours) that openly rely on marxist principles such as the class conflict between the few wealthy and many poor. The story follows a boy who goes to live with these Box Trolls (for reasons that are central to the big plot twist at the end, so I won’t share them here). In the city above their subterranean home the Box Trolls are seen as a menace to society–the boogieman that forces a curfew at night. In fact, much of the story world Box Troll myth is perpetuated on the tale of the Box Trolls supposedly having kidnapped the film’s protagonist and eaten him. Obviously the boogiemen didn’t eat that boy. On one level the movie talks about the falsehood of the boogieman and how this particular so-called boogieman is really just the migrant worker class, hidden from view and made to seem evil to advance a small number of somewhat charismatic individuals to a higher status. Each of the villains in the film is dealing with some sociological or moral dilemma about the idea of place, role, or redemption, but the conflict is masked by this larger illusion of good vs. evil. Make no mistake, there is no good class here. The rich leadership of the film world, signified by their white hats, are classic fat cats who openly let the city go to waste in order to sit around in their private club and feast on their cheese.

Let that sink in for a minute: actual cheese.

It gets better. The central villain wants nothing more than to cross classes and gain his white hat status so he can eat cheese with the upper crust of society. Unfortunately, that man cannot handle his cheese all too well, a fact that expectedly leads to his downfall. There are more than a few hints of a Ricardian Socialist utopia at the end, leaving one to question if this is a condemnation of the status system or a reminder that chasing the status and not valuing your role as a worker is the key to your own destruction.

I am going to use this film in class next year for social deconstruction. There is a lot to unpack for such a short and pretty film.

I’ve noticed two interesting things about myself: (1) I put an enormous amount of time into youth sports (2) I’ve stopped using lists as an organizational tool. Neither are deep revelations in of themselves but each as deeper implications as to the condition and conditioning of my life to date.

 

Call Me Coach
Gradually I’m coming around to recognizing that my persona in this town I live is largely that of a coach. I’m not upset by this in any way. Sports play a tremendous role in my life and because I am raising so many athletic kids it is only natural that I want to spend time with them by coaching them. I think what I want for the kids is what I want for the students in the classroom: To walk away with a great deal of knowledge that they remember and can readily apply to a given situation, but foremost in their mind to be the memory of having enjoyed their time.

The List of Many Things
I stopped listing because I didn’t want to write things down. I’ve debated whether or not this was based on fear of seeing how much was on my plate or changes in my work habits leading me to believe that I had full control of my responsibilities and schedule. Well I don’t. Never did. I cannot stop myself from taking on too much if I am unaware of what I’m already doing. So, it is back to lists for me.

First thing on my list: write down those 10 minute post ideas I keep coming up with and forgetting…

As a casual observer I’ve noticed that too much of what must be done and what is right and wrong gets lost in the politics and legislation of issues. My opinion is further fueled by articles like this piece on the Secret Service. The article talks about the short history of unforgivable gaffs from the secret service leading up to a dude running into the White House with a knife on him. The writer attributes the failure to a political move of the agency from the Department of Treasury to the Homeland Security Office. There is some truth in that. Prior to the move you didn’t see such lax Presidential security as was evident during the Bush and Obama administrations. Nobody managed to throw a pair of shoes (one at a time, mind you) at Clinton or Bush #1.

This seems like a small thing but is indicative of the role politics plays in mucking up the works of every day life and especially of what needs to be done. Politics even effects the healthcare system. Thanks to laws devised several decades ago, non-invasive medical tools like the the Lung Flute cannot even be sold in the U.S. without a prescription from a doctor. Yep, you need a prescription to blow into a piece of plastic that delivers no medicine whatsoever.

That’s politics, folks. We need to move past that and start to focus on doing what is needed and what is right.

One of the things about college sports that deeply troubles me is the scrutiny that college athletes receive. Correction: It isn’t the scrutiny but the expectation. Recently I read an article about Florida State QB, Jameis Winston, a polarizing figure in the world of college sports. The article, predictably, chided Winston for his behaviors. He was charged with shoplifting in 2014, earlier in his college tenure he’d been accused of stealing soda from a Burger King and was once questioned about a bb gun battle involving 13 FSU Seminole football players that resulted in broken windows in a complex near the stadium. Finally, he was accused of sexual assault in 2012, a charge that was never substantiated. The sexual assault issue is a big deal and one worthy of a red flag. A college study done by Sarah Lawrence in 1990 suggested that 1 in 4 college women will be the victim of sexual assault. The percentage far from excuses Winston of the accusation, but I’m not trying to excuse him. I’m making it clear that if  that behavior occurred, he deserves scrutiny. I also am reminding the pubic that we don’t know what happened and won’t until a full investigation is completed (perhaps not even then). The accusation alone is not enough to turn him into a monster.

The rest of the crimes–petty as they are–tend to be considered as typical collegiate behaviors. I remember many nights running through the buildings of Iowa State University firing laser tag guns at each other. I stole food from the cafeteria to make sure I had enough to eat. I’m certain I’ve jacked soda from McDonalds on more than one occasion (statute of limitations, y’all!). My point here is that Winston and other college players are routinely criticized for behaving like college kids as opposed to professional athletes. We are quick to forget that the brains judgement center doesn’t fully develop until we are 25. until then we are all still adolescents.

Too bad media scrutiny doesn’t allow certain kids to act like they are kids.

A peak at the new NFL Power Rankings (via si.com) suggests the Dallas Cowboys are the number 10 team in the league. That’s nonsense. On the other hand, Demarco Murray is far and away the #1 Fantasy back in the game thus far.  The season is unpredictable. Who would’ve guessed Shady McCoy would be average and Matt Asiata would run for 3 tds? My powers of research and observation cannot predict such things accurately, but I can tell you who is going to win from week to week. My 22-19 total suggests that I’m right more often than a monkey slapping at buttons or a baby drooling on the winning team’s logo. That’s not such a great comparative rate of success, but if you eliminate the nonsense of the second week then I’m sitting at around 75% success. That’s something to note. Here are a few more notes on the upcoming slate of games.

GB over MIN
R-E-L-A-X, GB faithful, even with a rookie RB going strong and Matt Asiata making short work of goaline stands, the Vikings are going to get cheesed pretty bad here.

CHI over CAR
Carolina has too many problems to count but it starts with an injury-prone RB corps and a line that isn’t doing much to or create running lanes or protect the QB. I’m putting my faith in Alshon here.

HOU over DAL
Don’t believe the hype. Even injured as it is, the NYG secondary is miles above and beyond anything DAL can do. Add to that the presence of a mostly healthy Arian Foster and the porous DAL D is going to have trouble, which means Romo is going to be playing from behind and throwing that rock all over the place… with limited success.

DET over BUF

PIT over JAC

NO over TB

NYG over ATL
I bench the ATL QBs if i’m you. Seriously: 7 NY picks in the last 2 games…

STL over PHI
The dirty truth of that fast-paced Eagles offense is that it is predicated on a strong run game. STL is predicated on a strong run defense. I see a handful of important stops making this one a close win for STL.

CLE over TEN

DEN over AZ
Denver is just too much offense. It will be close.

SD over NYJ
The Jets are killer against the run and decent against the pass and completely useless on the offensive side of the ball… We Want Vick. I get that he isn’t the end all, but he is able to move the pocket and move the ball outside of the pocket enough to bring up safeties and create match ups that guys like Salas can take advantage of.

SF over KC

NE over CIN

SEA over WAS

 

Some Thoughts:

1. My kids cheat at Black Ops II. Just sayin.
2. Been looking at a wealth of energy supplements to get myself back in balance. I had to stop drinking coffee at night because it was limiting my sleep. Now I sleep slightly longer, wake up earlier, and am a great deal more tired on average. That’s all kinds of wrong.
3. As a coach and a Dad I’ve been making running punitive. Running shouldn’t be punitive. It should be applauded and rewarded.

Two weeks ago I bought Call of Duty: Black Ops II. The 2012 video game promised to be bigger and better than it’s predecessors and had the added value of a strong storyline to power solo play. I didn’t buy it for that though. See, we have COD: Ghosts, the more recent version of the game. Everything in Black Ops II I’d already seen before, with one notable caveat: Black Ops II supported 4-player couch co-op. What’s more surprising is the lack of games that actually do these days. While online multiplayer support is on the rise, face to face or ‘couch’ co-op gaming has seen a sharp decline, which leads to the question: Are we connecting our youth, socially, or are we doing something else entirely?

Each Tuesday is game night in the Talislegger household, and having 3 boys the games tend to be multiplayer supported board games or couch co-op games. Sadly, the number of console games we can play together are dwindling significantly. According to co-optimus, a noted multiplayer game review website, the number of 4 player couch co-op games have decreased steadily and significantly since 2010. In fact, a Co-optimus search failed to illicit a single xbox 360 4 player game that wasn’t a remake of a previous title. Madden 25 and other sports games dominated the short list. There were more in 2013, including the poorly reviewed Adventure Time game. There were more still in 2012, and in 2011 the trend continues.

Meanwhile, Destiny is receiving all the gamer buzz and opened to the tune of $500 million in sales. The epic new Bungie (makers of Halo) shooter is a 3-player game, but only online. There is no couch co-op. This is the new trend in gaming. Today’s games are about interacting with players across the world but not the person sitting next to you on the couch. We are being trained to be global but to be isolated. I have a host of concerns about a world where we spend more time jacked in and communicating with a kid from Indonesia than we do talking to our neighbor next door. Perhaps we are already there and my sense of common good prevented me from recognizing that fact up to this point.

The question begs to be asked: What does that world look like and in that world, what do the words society and culture mean anymore?

I’ve been giving some thought to things holding me back from success and ultimately from the kind of peak happiness state that defined much of my post-elementary life. The words are important in all this. The writing matters. Outside of that I’ve yet to engage in a really good book as of late.. There have been some I like but none but Coelho’s Manuscript found at Accra held any deeper meaningful or motivational message the way that did…

Wow. In and out of consciousness for that burst of 10.  Better tomorrow to be certain.

I stopped titling these posts for several days because I hadn’t walked into them with any concept of what I was going to write. I’d start typing and let what happened happen. This time I knew I had a lot of smaller thoughts to unfurl, but nothing worth ten minutes. So, we do it like this:

1. The Gone Girl trailer claims that critics are calling the movie the ‘date night movie of the decade.’ This is profoundly inaccurate. If you take your significant other to see Gone Girl under the guise of a wonderful date night experience you are a fool. Worse still, you may expose your relationship to a level of scrutiny that will lead to difficult and possibly painful conversations.
2. To Derek Jeter: You’re one of the best I’ve ever seen and I am glad to have witnessed all 20 yrs of your hall of fame Yankee career. Thanks for the memories… and the championships.
3. Solid fantasy football start in both leagues despite the loss of Adrian Peterson. I haven’t let him go, because I am holding out hope of a late season return.
4. The Eagles are who we thought they were. So are the Niner’s, BTW..

I’m sitting at my desk writing my post in my home office for the first time in a good 30 or 40 nights. The rain is pattering off the windows and I can hear the distant hum of air conditioner fans working too hard on a night they shouldn’t. My thoughts are in New York with my friend Dwight and his wife and his life. I was a good friend once, but now I’ve become quite lazy and self absorbed in my own personal and professional nonsense. I have business cards and I haven’t called my best male friend in 4 months. It can be that easy to get lost in the everyday, especially when you don’t allow room in the everyday for originality and exploration. It all becomes a carbon copy of the night before and you start to define your week by signifiers:

• On Saturday the kids play sports.
• Sunday is for football until it isn’t, and then Sunday doesn’t much matter anymore.
• Monday is when you go back to work. Pause. Reflect on Monday night. Hang out with the friends that make you happy.

… it goes on, stretching into a calendar of printed events of points of interest that together chart the constellation of our lives. Tuesday is game night and we three boys and one man-child gather around the LCD and might shoot things or fall into the carefree competition of Wii U or perhaps use our hands and try our minds with a game of pokemon or even beyblade, but don’t think too hard because science and discovery happens mostly on Thursdays after wednesday has seen me teaching from the sun’s first peek at the sky till it winks goodbye and I can pause. Reflect. Work on my novel. Decide what science the kids ought to learn this evening and my body is run down and craves a moment at the gym to build a stamina to this nothing to change the direction of consumption and no time spent burning what is consumed. My wife says, “You ought to come to the gym with me.”

I nod and flash a false smile, hoping she realizes that someone has to watch the kids and spend time with them in that way they are accustomed to and enjoy. They don’t want more daycare. They want us. So I buy weights and promise myself I’ll be that guy who lifts at home–during commercials when I take a moment to breathe and try to relax–but it turns out I’m not that guy. I’m the other guy, the one who buys weights and says he is going to use them but doesn’t, so the kids push them around the house, another toy added to the pile another pile of dollars lost to the possibility of health and happiness. Maybe there will be time on friday.

But there isn’t because there is writing, and grading, and once in a while there are video games to be played so the brain can rest and the heart can leap at the sight of small victories. Maybe I can turn all that off and go to the gym and be the guy who pours himself into a workout, but then I wouldn’t be me. I wouldn’t have words that call out from the page to touch the minds of people I’ve never met. I’d be a different person–the guy who leaves work and turns that off and falls gracefully into the routine of life, who looks forward to saturday because next is sunday and then monday. The guy who slides through tuesday to stand in the hallway making jokes about hump day and how eager he is to see friday. The man who forgets that thursday can be an opportunity to be a part of a universe that is beautiful and thinks friday’s are supposed to be one thing or another.

I want to be a man who recognizes that each day is a chance to love yourself and to live for yourself and to be someone greater, more meaningful, or just plain different than yesterday. I am the man that smiles and nods when he hears Samuel Jackson channelling Neruda’s rant about monday mornings. And it so happens that I am tired too and I am pushed into certain corners and there are mirrors in which I see myself and I smile, because I know tomorrow can always change everything.

One day it will.