on a net wander, I'd ended letting some of the Lisbon Treaty debates play while puttering about the house tonight.
1. Large parts of the argument sound hauntingly familiar, having recently picked through the earlier Federalist/AntiFederalist papers.
2. Whenever I think just how much trouble we're in on this side of the water.. um.. just...wow.
...then, I think on thee.
And thy screwed-uppedness such dread brings,
that then I scorn to change my state.... ;)
This..... is gonna be an interesting century.
Saturday, November 27, 2010
Monday, November 22, 2010
oh... oh my.
The world is covered this morning with about an eighth of an inch of nice slick ice on EVERYTHING.
This is gonna be a *fun* day.
Whoof.
This is gonna be a *fun* day.
Whoof.
Sunday, November 14, 2010
School daze, revisited.
I'd like to take a moment to reply to Bill here. In response to this post, wherein I was in the middle of a week-long rage over the education I had as a kid, he replies:
Although there are admittedly indefensible problems with public education, it seems to have served you well. You have intellectual curiosity, the ability to seek out information and a rare ability to analyze complex cerebral matters. Decrying (in retrospect) that you were not taught everything you now have the awareness to investigate is a hollow criticism of the system. Perhaps your ideal is that of a privileged upper-class education.
I presume you meant Gracchi instead of Grachhi. Not that I would have known, I had to look it up on Wikipedia.
First, yes, I misspelled Gracchi. Oops. :)
I also have only barely scratched the surface of Classical history, so anything I say on that subject is way open to change. Gosh, I wish Tams were here.*
But to the meat of the subject ....
With respect Bill, I think you're mistaking natural gifts and family upbringing for the product of our educational system - I can say very confidently that those traits you have very graciously complimented (and for which I sincerely thank you!) have survived in spite of our educational system, not been inculcated by it.
(I did however have a handful of very good teachers - but likewise believe they were doing an exceptional job in spite of their environment and incentive structure)
But a little more on the subject itself -
There's two distinct problems.
The first is how much material and at what depth one expects a student to learn (while ensuring the kid stays in school) - the second is what subject matter is most important to include. It's easy to conflate the two, but they are very different problems.... and I was speaking primarily to the latter.
When I was a kid in school, I was very much aware of problem (A). Even making allowances for being the Hermione Granger of the class (small pond, remember!), by the time I was in high school it was fairly obvious that the difficulty level of work in the "challenge" courses could have been easily handled by the majority of the student body, the "standard" courses were so slow they should have been remedial, and Lord help the ones in the remedial classes.
That problem was easy to see even at the time - but frankly, was the smaller of the two. Much more important was the problem of what was being taught.
The best teacher in the world could be set one-on-one in front of the brightest kid on the planet.... but if the mandated curriculum is "Self Esteem 101" the result is going to be a colossal waste of time.
... as was, frankly, a large part of my education.
As to what I would have had instead? No, not "upper class." But much more suited to a Citizen of a Republic than a cog in a Prussian machine.
"What curriculum would I lay out for my children, should I one day be blessed with them" is a question I've thought on long over the years. I think I need to post that soon - and would love to hear suggestions.
But broad strokes version - complete elimination of "self esteem" BS, drastic reorganizing of "Language Arts" away from the fashion I had of contemporary pop-lit works to allow room to restore at least the rudiments of Latin and Greek (you know, making grammar school grammar school again), much more emphasis on Classical history.** Math and logic concepts certainly should have been introduced earlier in a form like Travis describes - the sciences I confess I'm still not experienced with on my own to offer a legitimate discussion on. I'd love to hear what the Nerds would have to say on that.
... But that's the summary first blush. More detail another time.
Anyhow - to the day. Happy rest of the weekend all. :)
------------
* PS - Highly Recommended.
Tams is one of my favoritest people I've ever had the good pleasure to know in real life. If there's a secret to learning new things, it hanging out with people who know so much talking with 'em makes you feel like a moron, and listening when they go on a tear. And Tams goes on lots of tears. See why I loves her? :)
** My Celtic soul doesn't really connect with the whole Greco-Roman thing either. But my 18th century "new to the civilized Western World" Scots forbears grabbed at that tradition with both hands for a reason. It's so easy to take civil society as a for-granted bedrock. T'aint.
Although there are admittedly indefensible problems with public education, it seems to have served you well. You have intellectual curiosity, the ability to seek out information and a rare ability to analyze complex cerebral matters. Decrying (in retrospect) that you were not taught everything you now have the awareness to investigate is a hollow criticism of the system. Perhaps your ideal is that of a privileged upper-class education.
I presume you meant Gracchi instead of Grachhi. Not that I would have known, I had to look it up on Wikipedia.
First, yes, I misspelled Gracchi. Oops. :)
I also have only barely scratched the surface of Classical history, so anything I say on that subject is way open to change. Gosh, I wish Tams were here.*
But to the meat of the subject ....
With respect Bill, I think you're mistaking natural gifts and family upbringing for the product of our educational system - I can say very confidently that those traits you have very graciously complimented (and for which I sincerely thank you!) have survived in spite of our educational system, not been inculcated by it.
(I did however have a handful of very good teachers - but likewise believe they were doing an exceptional job in spite of their environment and incentive structure)
But a little more on the subject itself -
There's two distinct problems.
The first is how much material and at what depth one expects a student to learn (while ensuring the kid stays in school) - the second is what subject matter is most important to include. It's easy to conflate the two, but they are very different problems.... and I was speaking primarily to the latter.
When I was a kid in school, I was very much aware of problem (A). Even making allowances for being the Hermione Granger of the class (small pond, remember!), by the time I was in high school it was fairly obvious that the difficulty level of work in the "challenge" courses could have been easily handled by the majority of the student body, the "standard" courses were so slow they should have been remedial, and Lord help the ones in the remedial classes.
That problem was easy to see even at the time - but frankly, was the smaller of the two. Much more important was the problem of what was being taught.
The best teacher in the world could be set one-on-one in front of the brightest kid on the planet.... but if the mandated curriculum is "Self Esteem 101" the result is going to be a colossal waste of time.
... as was, frankly, a large part of my education.
As to what I would have had instead? No, not "upper class." But much more suited to a Citizen of a Republic than a cog in a Prussian machine.
"What curriculum would I lay out for my children, should I one day be blessed with them" is a question I've thought on long over the years. I think I need to post that soon - and would love to hear suggestions.
But broad strokes version - complete elimination of "self esteem" BS, drastic reorganizing of "Language Arts" away from the fashion I had of contemporary pop-lit works to allow room to restore at least the rudiments of Latin and Greek (you know, making grammar school grammar school again), much more emphasis on Classical history.** Math and logic concepts certainly should have been introduced earlier in a form like Travis describes - the sciences I confess I'm still not experienced with on my own to offer a legitimate discussion on. I'd love to hear what the Nerds would have to say on that.
... But that's the summary first blush. More detail another time.
Anyhow - to the day. Happy rest of the weekend all. :)
------------
* PS - Highly Recommended.
Tams is one of my favoritest people I've ever had the good pleasure to know in real life. If there's a secret to learning new things, it hanging out with people who know so much talking with 'em makes you feel like a moron, and listening when they go on a tear. And Tams goes on lots of tears. See why I loves her? :)
** My Celtic soul doesn't really connect with the whole Greco-Roman thing either. But my 18th century "new to the civilized Western World" Scots forbears grabbed at that tradition with both hands for a reason. It's so easy to take civil society as a for-granted bedrock. T'aint.
Saturday, November 13, 2010
Granny's gonna be eatin' chicken feed...
So three things all sort of came together at once.
First, yes I admit the E2 talking heads are a smaller part of it -I'd be lying if I said the ZOMG INFLATION background noise didn't play into it today's fun somewhat. More importantly though, I've of late been in the initial planning stages for some longer distance woods walks next spring/summer, and had been looking to our ancestors for an eats option cheaper than the REI freeze-dried voonderdins, and lighter than tins of beans.
So when a friend in the local living history group suggested doing some contemporary food preservation and trying to live on that for a while*, well - that was it. Time to play. :)
So, living history to the rescue. Let's make some old-timey trail food!
First, I thought I'd try my hand at making some parched corn. It's more associated with the Eastern frontier, and there are references to the Overmountain Men heading off to go kick
British tail with hardly more in their packs than a bag of this stuff. It's... not filling, but I'm finding it makes great munchies. The comparison to the half-popped kernels of popcorn is right on. Not bad, but I can see getting awful hollow-feeling on it before long trying to live on the stuff.
Here's the fun thing though - of all the "here's how to do it" articles I read, I decided to go the cheap route, and did this leg of the grocery shopping at the local feed store.
I'd found different opinions on whether barnyard feed corn is a good option for us two-leggers. One guy says feed corn is field corn, which has been around for ages and everybody used to eat it. Others say nu-uh, the fiber or som'n is all wrong for us, and I'll regret it. So I thought it was at least worth the experiment while everything was still nice and comfy in the world, and bought a couple bags.
.... so far I've nibbled my way through prolly a couple cups of it parched/roasted over the course of the afternoon, and don't feel any the worse for wear. I did make a point of making sure there wasn't anything else in the mix however - I don't need horse meds in my snacks. Still though, it's a good thing to remember if things *do* end up going sour.... a hundred pounds of grain for the price of one nice dinner out ain't nothing to sneeze at.
So... part two. Pemmican.
I first heard of Pemmican from buckskinner guys I met out west.. it's been described as the "power bar" of the American West - essentially equal parts beef jerky powder and lard, sometimes with dried berries, nuts, or other extras. I've never had that yet, but it sounded interesting.
The next stop on the grocery run then was 10 pounds of beef and pork suet from the local butcher to render down for tallow. Five pounds of suet boiled down to around oh... six cups of tallow or so, and a pile of cracklin's. **
So - sometime soon I'll buy or make the jerky, and experiment with a couple pemmican recipes. Dried berries of all kinds aren't hard to find, though since I can't handle nuts I'll probably toss in some of the flax seed I have lying about***. If I get really ambitious I might start experimenting with adding some vitamin powder or something to it to make up for all the greens and such that just don't carry well.
Still, just looking at the ingredients, dense doesn't begin to describe it, either in energy-per-pound, or how blasted heavy it's gonna feel in the stomach. Still, I can sure imagine it might look almost appetizing after several hours of going up hills and down valleys in a chilly Alaskan summer. One way to find out. :)
So... that was my day, not accounting for some friendly chats here and there while doing the rounds. Hope yours was as fun. :)
----------------
* I probably will be doing this for dinners at some point, but I am not giving up my fresh green salad, roll, and coffee at lunch. Some things you just don't mess with. :)
** luuurving my cast iron cauldrons for this. The big one sits straddles the stove burner, and seems almost as happy to be there as on a bed of coals. Plus having been used in a fire, it gives everything a nice smoky smell for a bit.
** Quick tip for nut allergy sufferers - baklava with sesame seeds instead of nuts.... AWESOME.
First, yes I admit the E2 talking heads are a smaller part of it -I'd be lying if I said the ZOMG INFLATION background noise didn't play into it today's fun somewhat. More importantly though, I've of late been in the initial planning stages for some longer distance woods walks next spring/summer, and had been looking to our ancestors for an eats option cheaper than the REI freeze-dried voonderdins, and lighter than tins of beans.
So when a friend in the local living history group suggested doing some contemporary food preservation and trying to live on that for a while*, well - that was it. Time to play. :)
So, living history to the rescue. Let's make some old-timey trail food!
First, I thought I'd try my hand at making some parched corn. It's more associated with the Eastern frontier, and there are references to the Overmountain Men heading off to go kick
British tail with hardly more in their packs than a bag of this stuff. It's... not filling, but I'm finding it makes great munchies. The comparison to the half-popped kernels of popcorn is right on. Not bad, but I can see getting awful hollow-feeling on it before long trying to live on the stuff.Here's the fun thing though - of all the "here's how to do it" articles I read, I decided to go the cheap route, and did this leg of the grocery shopping at the local feed store.
I'd found different opinions on whether barnyard feed corn is a good option for us two-leggers. One guy says feed corn is field corn, which has been around for ages and everybody used to eat it. Others say nu-uh, the fiber or som'n is all wrong for us, and I'll regret it. So I thought it was at least worth the experiment while everything was still nice and comfy in the world, and bought a couple bags.
.... so far I've nibbled my way through prolly a couple cups of it parched/roasted over the course of the afternoon, and don't feel any the worse for wear. I did make a point of making sure there wasn't anything else in the mix however - I don't need horse meds in my snacks. Still though, it's a good thing to remember if things *do* end up going sour.... a hundred pounds of grain for the price of one nice dinner out ain't nothing to sneeze at.
So... part two. Pemmican.
I first heard of Pemmican from buckskinner guys I met out west.. it's been described as the "power bar" of the American West - essentially equal parts beef jerky powder and lard, sometimes with dried berries, nuts, or other extras. I've never had that yet, but it sounded interesting.
The next stop on the grocery run then was 10 pounds of beef and pork suet from the local butcher to render down for tallow. Five pounds of suet boiled down to around oh... six cups of tallow or so, and a pile of cracklin's. **So - sometime soon I'll buy or make the jerky, and experiment with a couple pemmican recipes. Dried berries of all kinds aren't hard to find, though since I can't handle nuts I'll probably toss in some of the flax seed I have lying about***. If I get really ambitious I might start experimenting with adding some vitamin powder or something to it to make up for all the greens and such that just don't carry well.
Still, just looking at the ingredients, dense doesn't begin to describe it, either in energy-per-pound, or how blasted heavy it's gonna feel in the stomach. Still, I can sure imagine it might look almost appetizing after several hours of going up hills and down valleys in a chilly Alaskan summer. One way to find out. :)
So... that was my day, not accounting for some friendly chats here and there while doing the rounds. Hope yours was as fun. :)
----------------
* I probably will be doing this for dinners at some point, but I am not giving up my fresh green salad, roll, and coffee at lunch. Some things you just don't mess with. :)
** luuurving my cast iron cauldrons for this. The big one sits straddles the stove burner, and seems almost as happy to be there as on a bed of coals. Plus having been used in a fire, it gives everything a nice smoky smell for a bit.
** Quick tip for nut allergy sufferers - baklava with sesame seeds instead of nuts.... AWESOME.
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
I'll play! I'll play!
Dear Travis says blue state New England chicks aren't so charitable seeing a hatchet hanging on the wall. Thankfully Alaskan dudes are less easily flustered. :)
I finally managed to find one of about the right time and place for splittin' up kindling for when we do outdoor cooking events. Makes an awesome wall decoration to -
Thing was - weeks and weeks before, I'd asked the folks at the Virginia Frontier Culture History Museum* if their Ulster Forge blacksmith could make me one - it seemed it'd make a great keepsake of a trip there with my father. When I didn't hear back, I assumed that request had just gotten lost in the shuffle and bought the one above.
Then out of the blue I get an email from a very kind lady at the museum saying "it's done -- you want?" So now I have two -
Just call me MollyPitcher Hatchet I guess. I promise to stay away from your liquor cabinets. And the electric guitars.
You know what, on second thought, let's just stick with "the crazy Alaskan chick" :)
* If you like Williamsburg and have never been to FCMV - go go go!!!! It is awesome!
I finally managed to find one of about the right time and place for splittin' up kindling for when we do outdoor cooking events. Makes an awesome wall decoration to -
Thing was - weeks and weeks before, I'd asked the folks at the Virginia Frontier Culture History Museum* if their Ulster Forge blacksmith could make me one - it seemed it'd make a great keepsake of a trip there with my father. When I didn't hear back, I assumed that request had just gotten lost in the shuffle and bought the one above.
Then out of the blue I get an email from a very kind lady at the museum saying "it's done -- you want?" So now I have two -
Just call me Molly
You know what, on second thought, let's just stick with "the crazy Alaskan chick" :)
* If you like Williamsburg and have never been to FCMV - go go go!!!! It is awesome!
Sunday, November 7, 2010
It's not that lies are told, but that things are omitted....
While rousting about the house for our reading group this afternoon, I'd been listening with half an ear to a Howard Zinn interview.
"If a lie is told , you can check up on it. If something is omitted, you have no way of knowing it's been omitted"
And you know.. the more I read, the more I see the truth of that statement. How easy it is to color this event or that, simply by not mentioning one aspect of it or another.
To Zinn himself... Do I agree with him? Oh heck no. I don't even like him. But I'm coming to think I can respect the man, provided his biography is as he describes. I'll listen to a guy talk about the injustice of war and the inanities of bureaucratic decision making when lives are on the line when he was there to see it. I can appreciate the emphasis on labor history, when the guy writing actually heaved and hauled and sweated for a living at some point in his life.
So I do get where he's coming from, and given the same life experiences, I can easily see how I'd arrive at the same point*. That said, I don't think he ever takes the next step of asking, "so... if we do cut out this horrible stain of America's and put in our own values.... then what happens?**"
But it's easy for me to say that, as my life's own perspective was formed almost half a century after his own. I see not the sins of the world that he saw growing up, but rather the unintended (well, some of them unintended***) consequences of his fellow travellers' actions and short sightedness.
(And like the other day's entry should show, I've no lack of short sightedness myownself. :p)
All in all? At this point - opinion subject to change as I learn more, as always - presently, given what bits of 1950's-60's culture I was exposed to in family stories, TV reruns, and old books and magazines lying about.... I think Zinn and his crew were in their time probably a worthwhile corrective in the American narrative. Or at least a decent supplemental chapter.
Now? And especially as a main course?
Every bit as deceptive - more, I'd say - as any Roosevelt era propaganda or John Wayne movie ever could have been.... and corrosive to boot.
So yeah, I think if I were designing an American History curriculum, I would leave him in.
.... just not till after a year or three of groundwork, so as to have a clear grounding in ... *heh*..
... what he omitted.
* "I would take the ring from a desire to do good..."
** A question those of us today would do well to ask ourselves as well.
*** Seems pretty clear LBJ knew exactly what he was doing.
"If a lie is told , you can check up on it. If something is omitted, you have no way of knowing it's been omitted"
And you know.. the more I read, the more I see the truth of that statement. How easy it is to color this event or that, simply by not mentioning one aspect of it or another.
To Zinn himself... Do I agree with him? Oh heck no. I don't even like him. But I'm coming to think I can respect the man, provided his biography is as he describes. I'll listen to a guy talk about the injustice of war and the inanities of bureaucratic decision making when lives are on the line when he was there to see it. I can appreciate the emphasis on labor history, when the guy writing actually heaved and hauled and sweated for a living at some point in his life.
So I do get where he's coming from, and given the same life experiences, I can easily see how I'd arrive at the same point*. That said, I don't think he ever takes the next step of asking, "so... if we do cut out this horrible stain of America's and put in our own values.... then what happens?**"
But it's easy for me to say that, as my life's own perspective was formed almost half a century after his own. I see not the sins of the world that he saw growing up, but rather the unintended (well, some of them unintended***) consequences of his fellow travellers' actions and short sightedness.
(And like the other day's entry should show, I've no lack of short sightedness myownself. :p)
All in all? At this point - opinion subject to change as I learn more, as always - presently, given what bits of 1950's-60's culture I was exposed to in family stories, TV reruns, and old books and magazines lying about.... I think Zinn and his crew were in their time probably a worthwhile corrective in the American narrative. Or at least a decent supplemental chapter.
Now? And especially as a main course?
Every bit as deceptive - more, I'd say - as any Roosevelt era propaganda or John Wayne movie ever could have been.... and corrosive to boot.
So yeah, I think if I were designing an American History curriculum, I would leave him in.
.... just not till after a year or three of groundwork, so as to have a clear grounding in ... *heh*..
... what he omitted.
* "I would take the ring from a desire to do good..."
** A question those of us today would do well to ask ourselves as well.
*** Seems pretty clear LBJ knew exactly what he was doing.
Thursday, November 4, 2010
Pollyanna
oh. dear. Some nights work out better than others.
So remember what I said about sometimes being a little too trusting of strangers for my own good? Yeah, well.
See, I got the full dose of "be nice and sweet and polite to strangers, practice charity to those in need..." a lot of us did growing up. Heck, the way my mom tells it, it was a challenge to keep me from running up and hugging complete strangers on the street when I was little.
That didn't work out so bad in the nicer parts of Appalachia or the small towns I grew up in.
In the less-nice parts of Anchorage, well. Let's just say it's one thing to know something in your head, and another thing entirely to buck an entire childhood of civilized upbringing.
So.... it was about the time I noticed the nice sweet young man I'd agreed to give a lift to had changed his story once that I got nervous. By the time I noticed one hand wasn't leaving a pocket, I was really nervous. By the time I noticed the other hand was wearing a latex glove, little phrases like "secondary crime scene" were floating through my head.
By this time, I had palmed a loosely sheathed knife. I know he noticed it, because he commented on it... even said he understood, he'd be scared to, some stranger in the car. I dropped him off at "his" truck, and will likely never see him again.
I'll never know for sure. Maybe I just spooked the hell out of some kid who just needed a lift. Maybe he was just some scammer who just wanted the ten bucks for "gas" and would have been happy with that.
... maybe I made it home in one piece because the kid did the math on the Tueller drill at 2 feet in an enclosed space.
God can I be naive sometimes.
Live and learn I guess.
So remember what I said about sometimes being a little too trusting of strangers for my own good? Yeah, well.
See, I got the full dose of "be nice and sweet and polite to strangers, practice charity to those in need..." a lot of us did growing up. Heck, the way my mom tells it, it was a challenge to keep me from running up and hugging complete strangers on the street when I was little.
That didn't work out so bad in the nicer parts of Appalachia or the small towns I grew up in.
In the less-nice parts of Anchorage, well. Let's just say it's one thing to know something in your head, and another thing entirely to buck an entire childhood of civilized upbringing.
So.... it was about the time I noticed the nice sweet young man I'd agreed to give a lift to had changed his story once that I got nervous. By the time I noticed one hand wasn't leaving a pocket, I was really nervous. By the time I noticed the other hand was wearing a latex glove, little phrases like "secondary crime scene" were floating through my head.
By this time, I had palmed a loosely sheathed knife. I know he noticed it, because he commented on it... even said he understood, he'd be scared to, some stranger in the car. I dropped him off at "his" truck, and will likely never see him again.
I'll never know for sure. Maybe I just spooked the hell out of some kid who just needed a lift. Maybe he was just some scammer who just wanted the ten bucks for "gas" and would have been happy with that.
... maybe I made it home in one piece because the kid did the math on the Tueller drill at 2 feet in an enclosed space.
God can I be naive sometimes.
Live and learn I guess.
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