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March 29, 2006
I KNOW I posted this yesterday
This article in the NY times discusses a study that is tracking one of the effects of the No Child Left Behind Act -- more time being spent on reading a math (especially by low performing students) and less time on social studies, science, and art.
I know I posted this yesterday. I even had two comments. I wonder what happened.
Posted by Nakia at 08:36 AM | Comments (4)
March 27, 2006
Happy Birthday Andre
Just wanted to say Happy Birthday to my brother. Andre turns 26 today. At that tender age, he already has his own company and a great wife. He does good work and is the reason I have this blog. I'm proud of him.
So Happy Birthday, Andre!!!
Posted by Nakia at 10:18 AM | Comments (1)
March 26, 2006
Scattered, Smothered, Covered
Sarah and I ate at Waffle House this morning. We sat at the counter because it was crowded. We saw all the action behind the counter, from one of the grill-people cracking eggs with one hand while she flipped eggs with the other, to the waitstaff calling our orders left and right. I had a thought. Someone (okay, me) should make a documentary about Waffle House. It could cover everything from how the cooks place the items like condiments and pickles on the plates to indicate what entrees go on there, to the types of people who work there, to the regular customers. Doesn't this sound like a good idea?
Posted by Nakia at 09:25 PM | Comments (4)
March 23, 2006
In Rememberance
Last Friday, March 17th (Sarah's birthday), my grandfather passed away. Troy Pope was 90. He had 9 children, 18 grandchildren, and 17 great-grandchildren. He had been sick for some time, full of the ailments of age, and had not been able to care for himself for several years.
I cannot claim to have known Grandaddy Pope, as we called him, well. But there are some things I do know. He had been a farmer, shoe-repairman, and lumber mill worker. He loved to fish. I tried to take him once, after my grandmother had died. We drove up to the creek in Little River, just to look around. He procliamed that the fishing wasn't going to be any good, so we turned around and went home. He worked hard. He went to church every Sunday that he could. He sat in the third pew on the right. He had a gravelly, scratchy voice that could get quite loud. He had a favorite chair by the fire. He cut and split wood like it was a religion. He could stack that wood so that you couldn't put two fingers in between the logs. He fussed over the cats that lived in one of the barns outside the house. He raised earthworms that he used to fish. He helped teach me how to bait a hook, which we dropped in the pond across the road from his house. That pond used to be called Grandaddy's Pond, at least by those 18 grandchildren.
Grandaddy's death is sad in many ways, even as it was not unexpected and, in some ways, a blessing. One of the things that strikes me the most is his death will lead to the fragmentation of the Pope family. There's no one in that farmhouse now, no one to call the children and grandchildren back home. All nine children and all but three grandchildren were present at his funeral; I'm almost certain that Monday was the last time that farmhouse will be that full. I didn't realize how much I would miss that until now.
Farewell, Grandaddy Pope. Be at peace.
Posted by Nakia at 08:25 PM | Comments (1)
March 16, 2006
New Movable Type
I just wanted to give a shout out and some thanks to my brother and the other folks at 803 Productions. They host my blog and, by the looks of things, have just upgraded Movable Type (the blogging software I use). You may not be able to notice much on the outside, but the upgrade has made things a little easier on this end.
Thanks, guys.
Posted by Nakia at 11:25 AM | Comments (1)
Grass and ants!
It's spring break here at Winthrop, so I've taken some time to do things around the house. Yesterday, Sarah and I put new grass seed down in our front yard. I chose bermuda, since it does well in direct sunlight and is pretty resistant to heat and drought (both of which happen in the summer here). I know, bermuda goes dormant in the winter and turns brown. But, it's the winter, dammit! Your not supposed to have green grass in the winter.
Sarah and raked the yard to losen up the soil and get rid of some rocks. Man, do we have a lot of rocks. I'm not sure why the builder saw fit to turn our yard into a gravel pit, but that's clearly what happened. We then spread a few bags of Scotts Lawnsoil on some of the bare spots. I then spread the seed and put out some starter fertilizer. Finally, using our new sprinkler, I watered the yard. We probably won't see any real results for a couple of weeks, since bermuda is such a warm weather grass. But any results are better than the red clay and rock festival that is our yard now.
I'm new at this home ownership thing, so I am not sure I am doing the lawn thing exactly right. But I'm trying to be patient about things and learn. I do know I liked working in the yard MUCH more than painting the bedroom. Those summers doing landscaping work must have paid off. Maybe I'll leave the interior stuff to Sarah.
The ants are in my office. I literally had to stop typing this entry because they were IN my keyboard. Because it is the break, the university is closed today and tomorrow, so it will be next week before I can call anyone about the ants. That's what one gets for having an office in a building that's 96 years old, I guess.
Posted by Nakia at 11:07 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
March 13, 2006
Monday of Break
It's Spring Break here at Winthrop and, despite the 75 degree temperatures outside, I'm in the office. I've got some grading to take care of, as well as a few other things work related this week. It's hard to do, though, when it's so nice outside. Spring is my favorite season.
The major spring break task is to get some grass in the yard. Since we've bought the house, our yard has been weeds and red clay. But this week SArah and I are going to put out some bermuda grass seed in an attempt to actually have a yard.
This past weekend we were in Knoxville, visiting my dad for his brithday. Andre and Heidi came to Rock Hlll and picked us up on Friday. We didn't do a whole lot in Knoxville, which was fine by me. We just hung out with Dad, Teresa, and Andrew, ate some good Indian food for lunch, and cooked a big dinner Saturday night. We also went to Mckay's Books, a big used bookstore. Plenty of stuff there; I was proud Sarah and I only spent $15.
A good weekend and a good week ahead!
Posted by Nakia at 11:11 AM | Comments (3)
March 09, 2006
Blame the Students
Based on a conversation we had in the 600 class the other day, a student sent me a link to the following news article:
Blame the Students
It raises some good points, but my (quick and dirty reply) is that motivation, drive, enthusiasm, etc are functional qualities (indivdiual characteristics that are influenced by the environment and vary accordingly) rather than mere traits of indivdiuals. A student's "work ethic" is not something that they just "have" but is itself influenced by environmental factors.
Posted by Nakia at 12:40 PM | Comments (0)
March 08, 2006
I turned into a martian (whoa - oh -oh!)
For my birthday, I received an iTunes gift certificate, courtesy of my colleague Dave Vawter. I just got around to using it last night. Upon recomendation from my student, Josh, I bought Ryan Adams and the Cardinals "Jacksonville City Nights". I like a lot of Adams' stuff, but his prolifficness (is that a word?) works against him; he puts stuff out that, well, should be left in the studio until someone unearths them for a Basement Tapes. I haven't listened to "Jacksonville" very much yet, primarily because of my other purchase.
The gift certificate was for $15 and the Ryan Adams album was only $10, so I was poking around iTunes for five more songs. Venturing into the "iTunes essentials", I clicked on the "80's Hardcore" list, revisiting my youth in the process. There was Bad Brains, Minor Threat, and a bunch of other stuff that fuled the straigtedge-adolescent rebellion-self-construction of my high school years. On that list was "Bullet" by the Misfits.
I sampled the 30 seconds of "Bullet" and knew I needed a lot of Misfits RIGHT THEN. So, screwing the fact that I only had $5 left on my gift card, I just downloaded the entire 'Collection" of 13 or so songs. The Misfits are 2.5 chords, elvis impersonating zombie-evil monster movie goodness. I mean, wow. I wasn't the hugest Misfits fan in high school; I was more into bands that "said something" like Minor Threat. Now, however, I can really appreciate a band that doesn't take themselves too seriously, yet still has sound and fury. I mean, look at these songs I downloaded:
"Bullet"
"I turned into a Martian"
"Skulls"
"Die, Die My Darling"
"Where Eagles Dare"
"London Dungeon"
"Astro Zombies"
Only one "Die, Die My Darling" is over three minutes long (3:09). How can you not love these songs?
I really, really want to get some professors together and start a Misfits cover band. I know I don't play any instruments, but how hard is it to play these songs, really?
Posted by Nakia at 08:26 AM | Comments (11) | TrackBack
March 07, 2006
Enjoy your magnificent isolation! (Don't forget to bathe).
Stephen Colbert on D&D Online.
Funny stuff. Even funnier because he knows what he's talking about.
Posted by Nakia at 11:33 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
Maxine Greene and Earl Shorris
In last night's 600 class, we ended with a discussion about whether Maxine Greene's concept of wide-awakeness (and the art and literature used to reach it) were elitist. Some argued that such a concept and approach were too distant from the realities that poor or otherwise disadvantaged indviduals face. While I don't think Greene sees it that way, I take it as a valid concern.
Earl Shorris, however, beleives that exposing the poor and disenfranchised to art and literature is not only a good thing, but a key part of their economic, political, and personal empowerment. He began a program in New York City, called the Clemente Course, that engaged the poor with works of literature and art. Shorris believes, along with Greene, that personal freedom and empowerment is the key to individual growth in all areas, even "practical" areas such as economic mobility.
Here are some links to investigate further:
An Interview With Earl Shorris
A Clemente Course at Trident Technical College in Charleston
More details about the Clemente Course
A Clemente Course Manual
Posted by Nakia at 10:47 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
March 06, 2006
Basketball Weekend
This weekend, watched a lot of basketball. Well, two games, which is a lot for me.
First, I went to the Big South Conference Finals here at Winthrop and watched Winthrop eek one out over Coastal Carolina. (Final score 51-50, for those of you who don't follow Big South Basketball regularly). It was a great game if you like defensive basketball and don't mind nail-biters. Coastal was very physical, despite their aqua jerseys. I'm kinda bummed this school can't even fill up the arena for a game that determines whether or not they will go to the NCAA tournament, but with only 7,000 students at a school that, until recently, was almost entirely a commuter school, what are you gonna do? I'm glad we're going to the Big Dance, but we'll get seeded 15 at most and have to play a Villanova or Duke in the first round. Maybe we'll get lucky and get Gonzaga again, which underperforms in the tourney. Maybe we'll get real lucky and get Gonzaga and Adam Morrison will get the flu or something.
Speaking of Duke, Sarah and I watched the UNC/Duke game Saturday night on TV. Good game. I spent a summer at Duke in 8th grade for some gifted and talented camp, so I've kinda rooted for Duke ever since, at least until I attended UVA and had another (crappy) ACC team to support. Now, I'm pretty neutral on the whole Duke/UNC rivalry. My 8th grade affinity has worn off, I know a lot more NC fans than Duke fans, and Duke has kinda become the Yankees of College Basketball.
Good basketball stuff.
Posted by Nakia at 11:49 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
March 02, 2006
Create your own study guide!
Here is the space for all students from my classes to post questions and answers to help prepare for the upcoming exam. I'll use some of the posted questions in our "Question Game" next week.
Remember, this is a space for you to post questions and ask them of each other. If you have questions for me, please ask them in class, during my office hours, or via email.
Posted by Nakia at 10:46 AM | Comments (4)
Lost 3/1/06
There are three types of "Lost" episodes:
1. Episodes where important things happen in relation to the island's mysteries.
2. Episodes where there is significant character development accompanied by flashbacks.
3. Transition episodes where we get bits of #1 and #2. Small things may become important later.
Last night's episode was type #3.
Spoilers, of coruse, if you go further.
I liked last night's episode, even though I felt it was "filler" at times. I enjoyed the focus on the female characters, although Claire annoys me a little (and has from the beginning). It was good to see Rousseau (again) show her mettle. Of course, this ep set up more conflict that it resolved. Questions emerging:
1. So the whole "Zeke as mad pirate" angle of the Others is just a sham? Kate found what looked like costumes in the lockers. Are the Others kicking it in some beach cabanna's on the other side of the island? It looks like Dharma is still working on things on the island and the Others are part of it.
2. Henry Gale is manipulative, even if he's not a plant. Trying to turn Locke against Jack, eh? My thinking is Locke was angry (at the end) not at Jack, but at himself for being manipulated like that. Maybe Locke believes Henry is an Other now.
3. What was up with Ecko's confession? Does he think Henry is an Other and wanted to confess that he killed Others to an Other? Or did he just want to tell someone not connected to the plane people?
4. Anyone catch what Sawyer was reading on the beach? I got The Brother's Karamozov was given to Henry. Having (embarrassingly) never read it, I cannot say of that text is significant or symbolic to the situation, other than it set up the Dostovesky/Hemingway Jacke/Locke conflcit perpetrated by Henry.
I guess a lot did happen after all; it was just subtle. Setting up future conflicts and revalations. Unfortunately, I think we have to wait 4 weeks before we get a new episode.
Posted by Nakia at 08:23 AM | Comments (12)
March 01, 2006
On line colleges may soon be able to recieve federal student aid funds
I am not an opponent of on-line education per se. In fact, I'm developing an on-line course for Winthrop. But I am not sure this is such a good idea, especially when the federal government is cutting higher education assistance in general:
On-Line Universites May Soon Be Able to Recieve Federal Aid Funds (Ny Times)
Posted by Nakia at 08:52 AM | Comments (1)