Tonight is the season premiere of Lost. I have to admit I'm pretty excited.
Since about half-way through the second season of the show, I've been the guy who watches the show every single week - never misses one episode. Then I show up to work the day after and talk about how much I hate the show.
Yet, I keep watching week after week.
What's up with that?
Thursday, January 31, 2008
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
kids are mean
One of my students was late to class today.
She stuck around after class to explain why. She says, "I was late today because my bag was nuggeted at gym class."
"Your bag was what?"
"Nuggeted."
"What's that?"
"It's when they take your bag, empty out all your books, turn it inside out, and then put everything back in."
I didn't write her up for being late. You can't make shit like that up.
The other thing that kids do is they "tray" each other. That's when you find an unattended bag in the cafeteria and stick a lunch tray inside. So when kids get to their class they open their bags and find a lunch tray alongside their books.
Cold blooded, yo.
She stuck around after class to explain why. She says, "I was late today because my bag was nuggeted at gym class."
"Your bag was what?"
"Nuggeted."
"What's that?"
"It's when they take your bag, empty out all your books, turn it inside out, and then put everything back in."
I didn't write her up for being late. You can't make shit like that up.
The other thing that kids do is they "tray" each other. That's when you find an unattended bag in the cafeteria and stick a lunch tray inside. So when kids get to their class they open their bags and find a lunch tray alongside their books.
Cold blooded, yo.
Sunday, January 27, 2008
kickin' it old school
I got a call from my friend Dustin this afternoon. He tells me he's looking to find some of the old computer games we used to play when we were kids.
In order to find them he literally googles, "i want to play a video game like monkey island 2."
I love Google. But I love the idea of finding these games even more. So of course I'm off to my computer two minutes after hanging up.
So, we finally track down some of our old favorite games. Classics like Monkey Island, Day of the Tentacle, King's Quest, Space Quest, Sherlock Holmes, et al. Essentially, if it was a Sierra or Lucas Arts adventure game, we were all about it.
As I write this the games are downloading. I can't wait. They don't make games like these anymore. I remember my dad getting mad at me when I installed Sherlock Holmes onto our new computer because it took up 30 megabytes of space on the hard drive. The equivalent of what would be a five minute video clip today was an entire game 15 years ago (and a great one, at that)! It took over ten floppy disks to install the game. CDs didn't exist yet.
Unfortunately, as the technology improved, the old adventure games of old went by the wayside. Will this be what it's like when I'm real old? Will I be telling my grandkids what the "good ol'" games were?
"When I was a boy we played games with stories! They made you think! You kids today...meh!"
That'd be sweet.
In order to find them he literally googles, "i want to play a video game like monkey island 2."
I love Google. But I love the idea of finding these games even more. So of course I'm off to my computer two minutes after hanging up.
So, we finally track down some of our old favorite games. Classics like Monkey Island, Day of the Tentacle, King's Quest, Space Quest, Sherlock Holmes, et al. Essentially, if it was a Sierra or Lucas Arts adventure game, we were all about it.
As I write this the games are downloading. I can't wait. They don't make games like these anymore. I remember my dad getting mad at me when I installed Sherlock Holmes onto our new computer because it took up 30 megabytes of space on the hard drive. The equivalent of what would be a five minute video clip today was an entire game 15 years ago (and a great one, at that)! It took over ten floppy disks to install the game. CDs didn't exist yet.
Unfortunately, as the technology improved, the old adventure games of old went by the wayside. Will this be what it's like when I'm real old? Will I be telling my grandkids what the "good ol'" games were?
"When I was a boy we played games with stories! They made you think! You kids today...meh!"
That'd be sweet.
Friday, January 25, 2008
if you will it, dude...
I was flipping through a magazine last night when I was at the recording studio, and I stumble across an article about an event that seemingly was made for me.
Lebowski Fest.
No joke. I had heard about it before, and I knew there were smaller "Lebowski Fests" around the country, but this one is the big one. It meets annually in Louisville, Kentucky. This year it's July 11-12.
The Big Lebowski has for years been my favorite movie. Sure, I know full well that driving to Louisville to hang out with a bunch of "Achievers" would not only be stupid but probably a monumental waste of time.
But maybe not. Past Lebowski Fests have included Lebowski art shows, appearances by Liam (Jesus' bowling partner), costume contests, live music, all the caucasians a man can drink, and even appearances by The Dude himself!
There's even a Chicago Lebowski Fest taking place, but I missed the boat. It's sold out.
All I want to know is...who's coming with me?
Lebowski Fest.
No joke. I had heard about it before, and I knew there were smaller "Lebowski Fests" around the country, but this one is the big one. It meets annually in Louisville, Kentucky. This year it's July 11-12.
The Big Lebowski has for years been my favorite movie. Sure, I know full well that driving to Louisville to hang out with a bunch of "Achievers" would not only be stupid but probably a monumental waste of time.
But maybe not. Past Lebowski Fests have included Lebowski art shows, appearances by Liam (Jesus' bowling partner), costume contests, live music, all the caucasians a man can drink, and even appearances by The Dude himself!
There's even a Chicago Lebowski Fest taking place, but I missed the boat. It's sold out.
All I want to know is...who's coming with me?
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
built ford tough
I've been watching a ton of football over the last couple weekends. Most of the games have been real entertaining, and even though the Bears' season ended weeks ago, I still make a point to watch as many games as I can.
Maybe it's just me, but is anyone else irritated by the truck commercials that come on about twice every single commercial break in every NFL game?
I mean seriously, folks. They set up these elaborate testing sites that remind me of gigantic versions of the game "Mouse Trap." You remember "Mouse Trap." It was the game that you didn't actually play. You just set it up to let off the mechanism that closely resembled the gate outside Mikey's house in The Goonies.
Usually these commercials include one, some, or all of the following elements:
1) A train engine.
2) A large cliffside, usually in the desert, that the truck almost falls off (it never does).
3) Some kind of pulley mechanism carrying large construction beams that nearly crush the speeding truck.
4) Hardhats.
5) A large cargo of concrete that is dropped into the truckbed from a minimum of 100 feet above.
6) A John Mellencamp song that makes me ashamed of being both white and American.
But the scary part is that since there are about two truck commercials for every commercial break, there has to be a shit ton of people who are driving these things, and I'm willing to bet 90% of them don't work construction.
Now I get how Bush got elected.
Maybe it's just me, but is anyone else irritated by the truck commercials that come on about twice every single commercial break in every NFL game?
I mean seriously, folks. They set up these elaborate testing sites that remind me of gigantic versions of the game "Mouse Trap." You remember "Mouse Trap." It was the game that you didn't actually play. You just set it up to let off the mechanism that closely resembled the gate outside Mikey's house in The Goonies.
Usually these commercials include one, some, or all of the following elements:
1) A train engine.
2) A large cliffside, usually in the desert, that the truck almost falls off (it never does).
3) Some kind of pulley mechanism carrying large construction beams that nearly crush the speeding truck.
4) Hardhats.
5) A large cargo of concrete that is dropped into the truckbed from a minimum of 100 feet above.
6) A John Mellencamp song that makes me ashamed of being both white and American.
But the scary part is that since there are about two truck commercials for every commercial break, there has to be a shit ton of people who are driving these things, and I'm willing to bet 90% of them don't work construction.
Now I get how Bush got elected.
Friday, January 11, 2008
i don't get it
Here are some of the things my students have said to me and other teaching colleagues today:
After two days of outlining and preparation, one of my students says, "I don't get it. What are we writing, again?"
After being given six weeks to read an independent reading book, one student announced in class, "For my book project, I read...I read...I forget what the name is."
And my favorite of the day: "Mr. Wise, when I was in fourth grade I wrote a twenty-four page novella. I'm rewriting it now, but this time it's going to be much more violent. What are we doing today?"
In case you were wondering what we were doing today, it was a final exam essay. No big deal.
After two days of outlining and preparation, one of my students says, "I don't get it. What are we writing, again?"
After being given six weeks to read an independent reading book, one student announced in class, "For my book project, I read...I read...I forget what the name is."
And my favorite of the day: "Mr. Wise, when I was in fourth grade I wrote a twenty-four page novella. I'm rewriting it now, but this time it's going to be much more violent. What are we doing today?"
In case you were wondering what we were doing today, it was a final exam essay. No big deal.
Tuesday, January 8, 2008
seguridad
I spent my Winter Break in Cabo, Mexico. It was a great time and a well-needed break from everything.
We were in the Cabo airport getting ready to head back home, but we had to go through customs first. Technically speaking, I'm not so sure it was customs, but I sure-as-shit wouldn't call it security, either.
This guy opens my bag up (as is customary for all luggage, apparently) and moves one t-shirt to the side.
"Any tequila in here, amigo?"
"Um. No."
"Okay then."
And then he zips it up.
"Next."
If only I was actually smuggling something back home. Damn.
I cannot wait to go back to Mexico.
We were in the Cabo airport getting ready to head back home, but we had to go through customs first. Technically speaking, I'm not so sure it was customs, but I sure-as-shit wouldn't call it security, either.
This guy opens my bag up (as is customary for all luggage, apparently) and moves one t-shirt to the side.
"Any tequila in here, amigo?"
"Um. No."
"Okay then."
And then he zips it up.
"Next."
If only I was actually smuggling something back home. Damn.
I cannot wait to go back to Mexico.
Monday, January 7, 2008
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