In Memorium

To all those who have given the last full measure of devotion to the defense of liberty and freedom, we salute you.

Take a moment on this Memorial Day to recognize those who sacrificed themselves to protect our way of life.

I Feel so Deliciously White Trash...

Well with less than two months to go before I am no longer a resident of the South, I did something particularly Southern today.

I went to a NASCAR race.

Now, I have always been critical of and just outright baffled by just how anyone could be a fan of NASCAR. People kept telling me that I didn't understand because I had never been to a race, and that if I went to one I would realize just how much fun they were.

Meh... not so much.

I am still thankful to Eric's buddy Chris for the free box tickets, so I won't say that I am sorry or ungrateful for having gone to the race. I mean, how can you say no to free food and drinks during the race?

I will say that I can understand why being at the race is exciting. For what it's worth, last year's American Idol Carrie Underwood did a concert before the race, and later sang the National Anthem. While I'm not a big fan of country music, I am a big fan of the fact that she's a very cute blonde... These races are obviously a big enough deal to get celebrities like that to come out, so it was kind of impressive.

As far as the race itself... man is watching 400 laps of left turns boring. I was told that if you pick out a particular car and driver to follow you enjoy it more because you're more invested in something, so I picked out Reed Sorenson who drives the #41 Target car. Why? Because I like shopping at Target.

Sorenson ended up finishing tenth out of 43 cars. Do I understand or appreciate NASCAR any more as a result of watching this? No.

I'll have no problem leaving North Carolina to the NASCAR fans.

X-Men: The Last Straw

Hey Brian Singer... Superman Returns better be the best comic book movie ever made, because things went to hell when you left the X-Men movie franchise. Brett Ratner needs to stick to crappy action movies that nobody cares about.

Was X3 really that bad? Yes and no... I mean, in comparison to The Hulk, The Punisher, Daredevil, and Batman and Robin it was still miles ahead in terms of making a comic book movie. But after how well executed X2 was, it was going to take a tremendous effort not to disappoint.

I think the biggest problem that started the downward slide is that fact that the movie was too short. Whereas X2 clocked in at over 2 hours, X3 doesn't even make the 2 hour mark. And I think that extra 25 or 30 minutes could have helped things out a lot. The benefit of a sequel is that you don't have to spend as much time in exposition and introduction, but you still need enough explanation of things so that the plot moves forward instead of just taking giant leaps.

The high points were in Kelsey Grammer's portrayal of Beast, getting Colossus a little more screen time, and Hugh Jackman's always solid performance as Wolverine. But the travesties in the way Jean Grey, Cyclops, and Professor X were treated basically negate these high points. I won't give anything away, but these characters just got screwed in this movie.

And again, I think it all comes down to the fact that Ratner was so eager to get to the action sequences that he forgot about narrative. What made the first two X-Men movies so good was the hard work that went in to making the audience believe the characters were real people that just happened to have extraordinary gifts. This time around the characters were just part of the scenery necessary to get the special effects of their powers on screen.

You should still go see it, but just don't expect it to be as good as X2.

Don't Feed the Bears

Sometimes while reading something else on a news pages, a gem like this catches your eye in the little sidebar of other stories.

Nature!

I'm sure it was an awful, sickening thing to watch... but at the same time it also sounds funny as hell.

Just the idea of a bear chasing a monkey...

What a load of horse shit...

And this, my friends, is why the United States is continually lagging behind the rest of the world in education.

Bad Idea Hyperlink!

It's not because of a lack of qualified teachers. It's not because American children are getting dumber. It's not because the rest of the world is getting that much smarter. It's all because of fucking Ivory Tower educational research ideas like this.

I'm sorry, but children need to learn rules and respect before they are allowed to explore their feelings and self-directed interests. If little Johnny is fidgety than he needs to learn some fucking self-control, not be allowed to jump up and down on a bouncy ball whenever he feels like it.

What made NC suck so much?

So, after talking to everyone this week I have recieved a number of questions and comments regarding my ghost-like status. I can't argue against it - this is the first time I have e-mailed, blogged, or been on instant messanger in months.

Aside from the Captain and my parents, I haven't really talked to anyone since I was home for Christmas. I called my brother and talked to him after GVSU called, and I think that's the first time I had talked with my own brother since the holidays.

The only thing that's kept me going through this school year has been the other 1st year teachers I work with. Just yesterday we were talking about the way things are at school, and what it really came down to is that we are all just so constantly angry because of our students that it's poisoning our souls. We have zero support from the administration, mentors that are only working on paper to get the extra pay, and a school full students that are doing everything they can to make our jobs that much harder.

What made NC suck so much? The students. All of my school of education classes, student teaching, and other ideas of what teaching would be were totally shattered by these kids. Their only aspirations are to turn 16 so they can drop out. Students are regularly absent 2 or 3 days a week, and when they are there they either sleep through class or cause disruptions like its a zoo. They never stop talking, which includes talking back to the teachers. All they want to do is talk with their friends or get up in the middle of class and start singing and dancing to the latest hip hop song full of graphic sexual implications.

These students don't deserve to be in high school. Out of the 230 odd students in the freshmen class we teach, at least 80 should not have left the 8th grade because they did not pass their classes. But the middle school was so desperate to get rid of them that they shipped them up to us anyway. And because they've been promoted to every higher grade up to this point, they still believe they will be sophomores next year even though they've failed all their classes. And of course failing those classes has nothing to do with never turning in homework, not studying, or talking through every lesson. It's all because our classes are boring and we're bad teachers.

Add on top of all that the fact that all of my friends and family are 800 miles away, the weather is always warm, and the lack of anything resembling culture down here, and I think that about tells the tale. Like I said, there's a group of us young teachers that have bonded together to help each other through. But if you look at that group, it's further proof that none of us belong here. I'm from Michigan, one guy's from Ohio, another from Massachusetts, 2 from Pennsylvania, another guy from Michigan... we're all displaced northerners who only ended up in North Carolina because nobody else wants to deal with these kids.

I just want to feel like myself again. This job has just drained me mentally, physically, and emotionally, and the only thing that it has given me to refill what it's taken is frustration, anger, and disappointment.

Whew... that was a hell of a rant.

I can barely articulate how much I am looking forward to going back to college, and moving back to Michigan. I never wanted to leave in the first place, but I had no other options. I think this graduate program is exactly what I am looking for, and it couldn't have come together more perfectly. I don't yet know when I'll be moving back to Michigan - that will depend on which residence hall I'm placed in at GVSU. I know it will be sometime before July 31, since that's the first day of our training.

I'll be coming home next year

No, your eyes don't deceive you... it actually is me blogging.

I don't think it's any surprise that I have hated my time here in North Carolina. My job and my general state of being during the past year have left me in a state of depression and apathy, and as a result I just never had the motivation to keep up with things like human contact.

But, all that will soon change...

This summer I too will take my place among that free-loading lot known as graduate students.

I have just been awarded a graduate assistantship for a master's program at Grand Valley in College Student Affairs and Leadership. "What the hell is that?" you ask. Basically, it's a program designed to prepare one for such positions as academic advisors, residence hall directors, and so on at a college or university.

Basically, it is the sweetest package ever. GVSU is going to pay my tuition, even given my current North Carolina residency. Since I'll be working in a residence hall, GVSU is also paying for my housing (a 1 bedroom apartment in the residence hall), a meal plan, and a stipend.

So, at some point this July, I will once again be a Michigan resident in either Allendale or Grand Rapids.