Well, well, well,
My brother Jordan is about ten years younger than his two older siblings, me and my younger brother Matt. Matt and I were free to blaze a trail to adulthood, dabbling in secret vices like tobacco, drink, or satanism. Jordan however was marched at gun point down the same path, but without the side trips of vices to those wonderful vistas of opium or grain alcohol. It is the path that our folks could see, and not the whole one they couldn't. One day, I am going to tie him down and force a bottle of cheap wine down the kids throat and not rest until he has done a line off a dead hookers ass.
Well, he has come to one of those kind of vistas, the respectable kind in which grandmothers love you all the more for being apart of. Like his two older brothers he just became an Eagle scout. For those who had fun childhoods and not in the know, Eagle scouts are like boy scouts par excellence. They can start camp fires with a glint in their eye and help old ladies across the street with superhuman speed.
It is an honor for him and one that is accompanied with much pomp and circumstance. No hooded men speaking an occult tongue decipherable to only the initiated. Rather, in the basement of a church the county executive's liaison shakes his hand and tries desperately to relate himself to Jordan. More on that in another post through.
Two of my friends and my brother Matt all had me write a little speech for them: a humorous appraisal of them as a person fluffed up with some genuine praise. Well, Jordan wants me to offer the same sort of speech.
Problem is, I don't like the boy scouts, not one bit. I run into some problems with them as I am an atheist homosexual. Ouch, two strikes. In fact, in 2004 I was still an actie member, teaching classes and such, when I tried to get my council (an organizing body, like a county) to draft a statement saying we were opposed to discrimination based on sexual orientation and religious belief. Two weeks letter I received a letter I had to sign for from the national headquarters in Texas. I was kicked out.
I would love to use this ten minutes of time to just slice into the institution who I worked for and who's highest honor I earned. But, instead I have 17 years worth of dirt on this kid. He is my little brother. I changed his diapers as a kid. I mean, how can you let material like that go to waste?
James's Journal
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10/11/2007 10:46 #41592
Pulling Punches for My Kid Brother10/09/2007 20:29 #41566
School Funding RidiculousnessCategory: school
I have now done teacher observations in two school districts: Buffalo and Orchard Park. The difference is disgusting.
In Buffalo, the teachers hadn't had a raise in six years.
In Orchard Park they have their own TV studio.
In Buffalo there were 35-40 kids in a classroom.
In Orchard Park there was 20-25
In Buffalo kids were doing fundraising to keep their drama club going.
In Orchard Park they offer horseback riding.
Now, I don't want to take those nice things away from Orchard Park. But if it is good enough for them it is certainly good enough for the poorest schools in Buffalo.
In Buffalo, the teachers hadn't had a raise in six years.
In Orchard Park they have their own TV studio.
In Buffalo there were 35-40 kids in a classroom.
In Orchard Park there was 20-25
In Buffalo kids were doing fundraising to keep their drama club going.
In Orchard Park they offer horseback riding.
Now, I don't want to take those nice things away from Orchard Park. But if it is good enough for them it is certainly good enough for the poorest schools in Buffalo.
james - 10/10/07 18:06
Ajay: City Honors is a fantastic school. But, if I can get a little John Edwards on this, the state of a district should be based on its worst school, not its best. It is a shining bright spot in Buffalo, but they just weeded out the lower 87% of the bell curve and have the best teachers in Buffalo. To get on the bright side for a second, thank god all isn't lost in Buffalo ^_^
JIm: you are right, no one statistic can tell the story. But in OP they had a text for ever student and a class set. One class was using two texts even! The books were all new with covers that cracked when opened for the first time. IN Buffalo not everyone had a desk let alone a text. The physical condition of the materials I think is a pretty fine metric.
I mean, FUCKING HORSEBACK RIDING!
Ajay: City Honors is a fantastic school. But, if I can get a little John Edwards on this, the state of a district should be based on its worst school, not its best. It is a shining bright spot in Buffalo, but they just weeded out the lower 87% of the bell curve and have the best teachers in Buffalo. To get on the bright side for a second, thank god all isn't lost in Buffalo ^_^
JIm: you are right, no one statistic can tell the story. But in OP they had a text for ever student and a class set. One class was using two texts even! The books were all new with covers that cracked when opened for the first time. IN Buffalo not everyone had a desk let alone a text. The physical condition of the materials I think is a pretty fine metric.
I mean, FUCKING HORSEBACK RIDING!
jim - 10/10/07 16:26
Average per-pupil for the district doesn't tell you enough. The special needs kids throw that statistic all out of whack. You need to really look at median per-pupil spending. Buffalo may look like it's close to parity with OP on some stats, but no one number will tell the story.
Average per-pupil for the district doesn't tell you enough. The special needs kids throw that statistic all out of whack. You need to really look at median per-pupil spending. Buffalo may look like it's close to parity with OP on some stats, but no one number will tell the story.
ajay - 10/10/07 16:17
It doesn't matter where the money comes from; the question is, what is the per-pupil budget of these two districts?
BTW: City Honors ranks near the top among *all* highschools in the US. So not all is lost in Buffalo... :)
It doesn't matter where the money comes from; the question is, what is the per-pupil budget of these two districts?
BTW: City Honors ranks near the top among *all* highschools in the US. So not all is lost in Buffalo... :)
james - 10/10/07 14:24
Drew: Kids with too much money and structure in the suburbs will make the same bad decisions as the kids with too little money and no structure. I understand 100%
Tiny: public Elementary, Middle, and High schools all get their money from the town's property taxes. In Orchard Park where a home can have a value of 350k easily this means a lot of money. In Buffalo where over 50% of the properties do not generate property tax (they are government buildings, religious institutions, or city owned like most of the east side) and the typical home value is 150k you have more kids and less money.
The state drops in a little money and the federal government gives money to the state. But that doesn't represent a huge chunk of the income.
Drew: Kids with too much money and structure in the suburbs will make the same bad decisions as the kids with too little money and no structure. I understand 100%
Tiny: public Elementary, Middle, and High schools all get their money from the town's property taxes. In Orchard Park where a home can have a value of 350k easily this means a lot of money. In Buffalo where over 50% of the properties do not generate property tax (they are government buildings, religious institutions, or city owned like most of the east side) and the typical home value is 150k you have more kids and less money.
The state drops in a little money and the federal government gives money to the state. But that doesn't represent a huge chunk of the income.
tinypliny - 10/10/07 01:34
Are these schools (Buffalo and Orchard Park, alike) privately or publically (govt.) funded?
Are these schools (Buffalo and Orchard Park, alike) privately or publically (govt.) funded?
drew - 10/10/07 00:01
True dat. But having come from a neighborhood like OP I can say with complete sincerity that there are plenty of problems with in places like that. Our move to the city had a lot to do with wanting to leave the suburbs.
True dat. But having come from a neighborhood like OP I can say with complete sincerity that there are plenty of problems with in places like that. Our move to the city had a lot to do with wanting to leave the suburbs.
10/07/2007 17:16 #41540
Sims broke my heart.Category: video games
(e:Janelle) has been journaling about the Sims, that video game where you... uh... simulate humans? You know, soup to nuts. From planing out their home and rise in a simulated capitalist economy to the micromanagement of sending them off to pee. And at a time-laps pitch it is oddly addicting.
Well, I played the Sims once, when it was a new game. Like Janelle I started off modestly. But mostly because I didn't read the instructions and just moved into the first shack I came across. Well, living in a miserable tiny apartment with room mates I wanted to axe murder I thought I would play out my childish fantasies. So, two guys move in and I try to get them to fall in love.
Now, this isn't a one-who-got-away sort of story. At the beginning they didn't like when I made them hug. But they kind of liked it when one bought a gift for the other. They could joke and pall around, but if I made them flirt. Yikes! It was uncomfortable.
But, I was persistent and my fantasy couple got together. One was an artists, because that sounded much more exciting than the waiter I was at the time. The other was in the military. Oh, everyone knew about his boyfriend, but it was never talked about on the base because our man was such a good soldier.
One morning, the military man wakes up early and sneaks downstairs to make the other breakfast in bed. A few weeks earlier they bought a grill for their anniversary. He starts cooking on the grill as the other gently slept and then.... BOOM!
FIRE!
FIRE!
Military man was engulfed in flames and died. A little tomb stone stood among the chard remains of the grill. The other sim would spend all day weeping beside it. He lost his job because he spent all day grieving.
Occasionally military man's ghost would appear and try to hug his lover. But the living sim would get frightened and run away. Then, when the ghost would disappear hugless the other would just return to the tomb and cry some more.
I was taking a Modern Russian history class at the time. The Albany winter was especially cold that year and reading the Gulag Archipelago for class should have been a harrowing experience. But the death and suffering of thousands was less depressing than my one and only game of the Sims.
Well, I played the Sims once, when it was a new game. Like Janelle I started off modestly. But mostly because I didn't read the instructions and just moved into the first shack I came across. Well, living in a miserable tiny apartment with room mates I wanted to axe murder I thought I would play out my childish fantasies. So, two guys move in and I try to get them to fall in love.
Now, this isn't a one-who-got-away sort of story. At the beginning they didn't like when I made them hug. But they kind of liked it when one bought a gift for the other. They could joke and pall around, but if I made them flirt. Yikes! It was uncomfortable.
But, I was persistent and my fantasy couple got together. One was an artists, because that sounded much more exciting than the waiter I was at the time. The other was in the military. Oh, everyone knew about his boyfriend, but it was never talked about on the base because our man was such a good soldier.
One morning, the military man wakes up early and sneaks downstairs to make the other breakfast in bed. A few weeks earlier they bought a grill for their anniversary. He starts cooking on the grill as the other gently slept and then.... BOOM!
FIRE!
FIRE!
Military man was engulfed in flames and died. A little tomb stone stood among the chard remains of the grill. The other sim would spend all day weeping beside it. He lost his job because he spent all day grieving.
Occasionally military man's ghost would appear and try to hug his lover. But the living sim would get frightened and run away. Then, when the ghost would disappear hugless the other would just return to the tomb and cry some more.
I was taking a Modern Russian history class at the time. The Albany winter was especially cold that year and reading the Gulag Archipelago for class should have been a harrowing experience. But the death and suffering of thousands was less depressing than my one and only game of the Sims.
fellyconnelly - 10/08/07 22:21
all this talk of sims made me play rise of nations. which is not the sims. nor really anything like the sims. but it was a great way to waste a day.
the end.
all this talk of sims made me play rise of nations. which is not the sims. nor really anything like the sims. but it was a great way to waste a day.
the end.
james - 10/08/07 20:38
Jenks: I do that to everything. Our houseplants, kitchen appliances, novelty pens.
Drew: First the Sims, then the children!
Jenks: I do that to everything. Our houseplants, kitchen appliances, novelty pens.
Drew: First the Sims, then the children!
drew - 10/08/07 17:38
Apparently, the conservatives were right about the "radical homosexual agenda."
Apparently, the conservatives were right about the "radical homosexual agenda."
jenks - 10/07/07 18:20
are you serious? You 'made' your sims gay?! That is so awesome.
are you serious? You 'made' your sims gay?! That is so awesome.
james - 10/07/07 18:20
Felly: That is how I want to loose my job
Drew: People get desperate with love and very well could get to like each other if they spend enough time together. But training them to have full fledge mental illness? That is a lofty goal and it was a noble try.
Set the bar a little lower next time. Like, with Alzheimer's you just have to have them forget to do things, like go to work. Easy. Or if you want them to develop a physical problem may I suggest incontinence? So easy, and so rewarding.
Felly: That is how I want to loose my job
Drew: People get desperate with love and very well could get to like each other if they spend enough time together. But training them to have full fledge mental illness? That is a lofty goal and it was a noble try.
Set the bar a little lower next time. Like, with Alzheimer's you just have to have them forget to do things, like go to work. Easy. Or if you want them to develop a physical problem may I suggest incontinence? So easy, and so rewarding.
drew - 10/07/07 17:58
I tried sims and started to get tired of it, but curiosity made me ask, "Could I make a Sim lose its mind?"
My hypothesis said that if I told a sim to behave in a mentally ill way, eventually, said sim would become mentally ill.
So I spent all of my time telling my sim to wash his hands. I let him do nothing else. His thought bubbles would let me know that he was hungry, or sleepy, or needed to use the toilet. I didn't care. I told him to keep washing his hands.
I was a little bit dissapointed that doing this never led to thought bubbles filled with guilt that would never wash away.
Eventually, my sim would pass out and wet himself. When he woke up, it was back to handwashing.
Eventually he passed out and never woke up.
I tried sims and started to get tired of it, but curiosity made me ask, "Could I make a Sim lose its mind?"
My hypothesis said that if I told a sim to behave in a mentally ill way, eventually, said sim would become mentally ill.
So I spent all of my time telling my sim to wash his hands. I let him do nothing else. His thought bubbles would let me know that he was hungry, or sleepy, or needed to use the toilet. I didn't care. I told him to keep washing his hands.
I was a little bit dissapointed that doing this never led to thought bubbles filled with guilt that would never wash away.
Eventually, my sim would pass out and wet himself. When he woke up, it was back to handwashing.
Eventually he passed out and never woke up.
10/02/2007 12:01 #41452
The Big DisapointmentCategory: buffalo
Ya, the big, big, big, big news is out.
We made it on the top ten list after all. I am happy for Buffalo, but after all that hype I wouldn't have been happy with anything short of a five-story H&M
Here is the Buffalo News story.
Yup, that's the big, big, big, big news.
Which reminds me...
I will never tire of that song or video.
We made it on the top ten list after all. I am happy for Buffalo, but after all that hype I wouldn't have been happy with anything short of a five-story H&M
Here is the Buffalo News story.
Yup, that's the big, big, big, big news.
Which reminds me...
I will never tire of that song or video.
james - 10/02/07 23:05
except so much more awesome!
except so much more awesome!
fellyconnelly - 10/02/07 22:57
this is like that annoying gerbil hamster song that used to waft from cubicle to cubicle.
this is like that annoying gerbil hamster song that used to waft from cubicle to cubicle.
james - 10/02/07 19:15
oh ya, they did a lot of work (I think, at least) and deserve credit. But after the hooopla, mixed with the fact that this was a national news story days before, really made me think it would be something... better.
If I just found the news story and we didn't have this secretive press conference I would have been really happy about the whole situation. Instead I feel a little left out in the rain.
oh ya, they did a lot of work (I think, at least) and deserve credit. But after the hooopla, mixed with the fact that this was a national news story days before, really made me think it would be something... better.
If I just found the news story and we didn't have this secretive press conference I would have been really happy about the whole situation. Instead I feel a little left out in the rain.
dcoffee - 10/02/07 19:09
That was my thought too. Maybe I just don't know jack about the APA, there must be a lot of neighborhoods in the country, millions I guess, it's a definite honor to be in the top ten. They must have been super excited to create all this hoopla, and they deserve some praise for their hard work. But I did expect something different. Do we get any Cash for that honor?
That was my thought too. Maybe I just don't know jack about the APA, there must be a lot of neighborhoods in the country, millions I guess, it's a definite honor to be in the top ten. They must have been super excited to create all this hoopla, and they deserve some praise for their hard work. But I did expect something different. Do we get any Cash for that honor?
10/03/2007 13:20 #41472
The Most Disgusting Food Gift EverCategory: food
Hi,
You know how you get a song in your head, in this case Last Dance With Mary Jane by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, and then you read a little on wikipedia then 30 minutes later you have followed a giant trail of vaguely related items and find yourself reading about sausage casing?
Well, that happened just now. And check out what treasure was unearthed
That is right! From a large distributor you can order sausage casing in the shape of a beer bottle! And this isn't a skimpy little sausage. Oh no, this is 1 1/4 pounds of summer sausage fun my friend.
Think of the hilarity as you whip this bad boy out on your next fishing trip. All your friends will be pawing for a bit of your beer bottle sausage. Hey there fellers, there is more than enough sausage to go around!
Order yours now from the mouthwateringly named Mid-Western Research and Supply Inc.
You know how you get a song in your head, in this case Last Dance With Mary Jane by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, and then you read a little on wikipedia then 30 minutes later you have followed a giant trail of vaguely related items and find yourself reading about sausage casing?
Well, that happened just now. And check out what treasure was unearthed
That is right! From a large distributor you can order sausage casing in the shape of a beer bottle! And this isn't a skimpy little sausage. Oh no, this is 1 1/4 pounds of summer sausage fun my friend.
Think of the hilarity as you whip this bad boy out on your next fishing trip. All your friends will be pawing for a bit of your beer bottle sausage. Hey there fellers, there is more than enough sausage to go around!
Order yours now from the mouthwateringly named Mid-Western Research and Supply Inc.
jbeatty - 10/03/07 23:18
I don't know about most disgusting ever. I think those hickory farms gift packs may be ahead if it.
I don't know about most disgusting ever. I think those hickory farms gift packs may be ahead if it.
fellyconnelly - 10/03/07 21:40
you make my mouth water.
you make my mouth water.
jason - 10/03/07 14:50
Oh man, I get sucked into Wiki-surfing alll the time. The other day I started off somewhere, who knows where, and ended up looking up info on King Ludwig III of Bavaria and the German Emperor Wilhelm II. Eventually that led to information about Audrey Hepburn. Damn you, Wikipedia!!
Oh man, I get sucked into Wiki-surfing alll the time. The other day I started off somewhere, who knows where, and ended up looking up info on King Ludwig III of Bavaria and the German Emperor Wilhelm II. Eventually that led to information about Audrey Hepburn. Damn you, Wikipedia!!
That is really commendable of you to write that letter in the first place. Good for you for doing that.
Oops. I feel embarassed. Looking at me acting all righteous!
By the way, this post inspired my latest post.
Oh ya! I am totally going to make it all about him! It would be wrong of my to hijack his big day. I mean, when I spoke at my Brother's wedding I didn't talk about marriage inequality, I talked about him kicking my ass in video games and football or his wife's disastrous baking.
That is what I meant in the last paragraph, that I have so much good material on this kid that I couldn't possibly waste it on some larger issue.
But thank you both. ^_^
Ditto with Drew.
I would use the time to honor your brother or say no and explain why.
Or a 3rd option, see how your brother would feel about you using the moment to speak out against the organization.
By the way, thanks for the nice comment on my post!
First of all, I feel sorry that the scouts do not appreciate you as much as they should.
That being said, I think your brother will resent it if you make this even about you and not about him. Therefore, I would refrain from using those 10 minutes to get at them, and either explain kindly why you cannot speak or speak about your brother and leave the scout's issues out of it.