You are currently browsing the archives for September, 2010.
In Defense of Teachers.
Teachers are used to working with less. Primary school teachers are used to buying basic classroom supplies out of their own salaries; secondary school teachers are used to teaching with classrooms at double or more capacity; post secondary teachers at all levels are used to ever increasing demands from multiple masters (publish now, do committee work now, teach now, advise now…everything now, or preferably yesterday). I’ve taught at all these levels, and most of the teachers I know accept their respective situations with a shrug and a sense of humor (there’s a reason the teachers’ lounge is the most important room in any school building for the people to whom it caters).
Taking Congress Seriously.
This is mindblowingly brilliant…and perhaps the best use of a Congressional hearing in decades. Proof that this hits home: the face of bigoted jackass Rep. Steve King, who understands the target of the joke. I’d ask the Republicans who don’t understand to read up on Voltaire, but I doubt they’d get the reference.
Night of the Living Trekkies
Two overexposed memes just had a baby full of awesome. It’s too bad this isn’t a real movie.
Night of the Living Trekkies: Book Trailer from R. Giskard Reventlov on Vimeo.
Losing My (#@%!) Religion
This is my new favorite rendition of the REM classic. Apparently this young man not only has severe Tourettes syndrome, but also Aspergers and mild Autism. It’s very interesting to notice the buildup of the various ticks and exclamations as he forces himself through the lyrics. Some of them even fall exactly on the beat. Seems a similar phenomenon to the singing therapy that allows stutterers to enunciate without difficulty.
The Ultimate Promo
For those of you keen to download The Ultimate Promo (as heard in Mep 122), you can do so here.
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Flintstones Vitamins Placed in Birthday Cakes Nationwide (Mep Report #122)
Lecturing Prison Gangs, Michael Richards Riot Redux, Fantasy Theater of the Abhorrent, Know Your Audience, Don’t Celebrate Mediocrity; Celebrate the Jersey Shore, Malnourished Pet Superheroes, And the Legend of Ten Fists and the Lost Soul Fragments.
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David Foster Wallace on Mass Media Culture
Brilliant social commentator, David Foster Wallace talks about the ramifications of creating a society that is afraid of quiet and solitude.