Funny.
Just a quick short (broadband required) which should garner a laugh or two.
Jan 24, 2006
Jan 23, 2006
Embracing my inner geek.
Would you believe someone has actually gone out and produced new episodes of Star Trek TOS? They’re available for download here - haven’t watched any of it yet so I can’t speak to the quality but apparently there are many membors of the original production involved. Bandwidth is required.
Would you believe someone has actually gone out and produced new episodes of Star Trek TOS? They’re available for download here - haven’t watched any of it yet so I can’t speak to the quality but apparently there are many membors of the original production involved. Bandwidth is required.
Jan 22, 2006
On the heels of the SPAM entry.
Mike forwarded along a link to me that anyone who hates SPAM will find useful. The next time you get some SPAM you might want to point the originator of said SPAM to the Break The Chain site.
Mike forwarded along a link to me that anyone who hates SPAM will find useful. The next time you get some SPAM you might want to point the originator of said SPAM to the Break The Chain site.
Data mining and you.
If you’ve been asleep lately (and we all hibernate during the winter) maybe, you’ll have missed this jewel:
But wait, it gets better!
Just where is the information about all this coming from?
So, the question for today is: if we give up the civil liberties making this nation a becon for the world’s oppressed — if, in an attempt to make our lives ‘safe and secure’ we relinquish all those wonderful checks and balances put into place through the years to prevent the abuse of power by our own government — will the terrorists have won?
If you’ve been asleep lately (and we all hibernate during the winter) maybe, you’ll have missed this jewel:
A year ago, at a Quaker Meeting House in Lake Worth, Fla., a small group of activists met to plan a protest of military recruiting at local high schools. What they didn’t know was that their meeting had come to the attention of the U.S. military.
But wait, it gets better!
Below are excerpts from search engine's privacy policies regarding the disclosure of information for legal purposes:
Just where is the information about all this coming from?
“I specialized in what’s called special access programs,” Tice said of his job. “We called them ‘black world’ programs and operations.”
But now, Tice tells ABC News that some of those secret “black world” operations run by the NSA were operated in ways that he believes violated the law. He is prepared to tell Congress all he knows about the alleged wrongdoing in these programs run by the Defense Department and the NSA in the post-9/11 efforts to go after terrorists.
So, the question for today is: if we give up the civil liberties making this nation a becon for the world’s oppressed — if, in an attempt to make our lives ‘safe and secure’ we relinquish all those wonderful checks and balances put into place through the years to prevent the abuse of power by our own government — will the terrorists have won?
Jan 20, 2006
Today’s DUMBASS Award.
Drumroll please... Today’s winner is!
CHUCK ZUBAK [mailto:czubak@adelphia.net]
Chuck is our winner today for being enough of an idiot as to forward what we called in the days before the internet - a chain letter! Nowadays we have another name for it: SPAM!
Chuck was the originator of this email that managed to find it’s way to:HAROLD PETERS; ALAN & SUE VAN NESS; Andy Prettyman; Bob (Missy); Frank & Cindy Arico; GREG SCHULTZ; KAREN W.; Kevin & Sherry; Mary Clare Decker; Patrick Mulvoy; RUSS SULLIVAN; SID NIPER; Ted; QUALITY AUTO; John Meyer; JOHN DOTTERWEICH; Jodi C; JIM OWINGS; Jeff Nip; Chris Hull ; Braden Niper; michael; laura weingartner; ccvalentine; TYSMOM4; sid niper; jeanetteg3, parris weingartner; annereck; jaybirdcheryl; christinev; christykota; dpricern36; doug.davis; Lou4Bru; flirtygirty2u2005; mpriori; msptrpan77; mikelang; duets4one; tgalisewski; TDavis; beaverroof; Paul Barnes; Cathy Bomba; Mary & Tommy Damato; Elizabeth Langowsky; John & Eileen Langowsky; Mike Langowsky; Paul Langowsky; aryellowbeetle; yelnif; basketcase1177; tmadamato; jjl5; szymanskik; mckilo5; michelejb; ngarbarino; salena; Andrea Kennedy; Allison Civitella; Kate Plasson; Lisa Yediny; Lynette Capone; Maria Algarra; pudgey; Patsy Matusiak; Melissa Fragale; Vincent Burdelski Burdelski; Bobbe; Justine Brundage; Cathy Contey; Jennie Sama; Kathie Wilson; Anne Mackenzie; shirley Donan; Gerry Kuczynski; Linda Schaefer; Eleanor Hollister; Shari Matusiak; Sarah Redpath; Elizabeth Maykish; Jane Sullivan; Sylvia Watkins; Maureen Esposito; Jean Fryar; shhd; huffmara; rkoeleveld; l.kehn
Speaking for all the aforementioned people, I want to take the time out to thank Chuck who started this by forwarding an email which subsequently was forwarded and forwarded again - each time containing the valid email addresses of the recipients.
Without Chuck’s efforts, poor spammers from around the world would have no livelihood and what a world that would be! Where would we all be without the latest info on the Nigerian money waiting for us, the easy way to buy prescription drugs, the latest developments in the world of porn, or the need to update our security profile with our personal information. What a lonely day it would be to open our email box and find it devoid of all those interesting opportunities and reminders.
Let’s hear it for CHUCK! Yaaaaaayyyyyyyyy Chuck!
Now then, let’s help Chuck receive the second part of his award.
Remember Chuck’s email? Well, if you forgot it, it’s: czubak@adelphia.net
Next time you log onto that porn site, or have to create an account for biz rate or some other phishing site, don’t forget to use Chuck’s email address as the respondent email.
YES! CHUCK LOVES SPAM! and none of us want him to go hungry so be sure to use his email otherwise poor Chuck will be down from the lack of attention and response he got from his efforts!
One more time everyone! Yaaaaaaayyyyyyy CHUCK!
Drumroll please... Today’s winner is!
CHUCK ZUBAK [mailto:czubak@adelphia.net]
Chuck is our winner today for being enough of an idiot as to forward what we called in the days before the internet - a chain letter! Nowadays we have another name for it: SPAM!
Subject: FW:
??
???
Hope the Leprechaun dances his jig for you! I had to forward this, my mom swears it works. The day after she sent it, they got an offer on their land on the Swannee river, they have'nt even seen that land since 1987. It came out of the blue. So you know that I'm going to try it. Love Kim
Not sure if this had anything to do with it but it was shortly after I sent this out - I got a call to say our bond was approved - against all odds.
I don't know if it works but i won a new fridge full of various cool drinks from Beyer And Beyer last week.
I do not know if it works, but I won a microwave yesterday. Seems like it
Hey !! Good luck to everyone! And may all your dreams come true!!
This may sound nuts, but my husband got this the other day and sent it off. About 10 minutes later a really good financial windfall happened for his son Sean who he had sent it too as well. One of the people he sent it to was responsible for the windfall.
AN IRISH FRIENDSHIP WISH
Good Luck!! I hope it works...
May there always be work for your hands to do; May your purse always hold a coin or two; May the sun always shine on your windowpane; May a rainbow be certain to follow each rain; May the hand of a friend always be near you; May God fill your heart with gladness to cheer you.
OK, this is what you have to do... Send this to all of your friends! But - you HAVE to send this within 1 hour from when you open it!
Now.................Make A wish!!!!!!
I hope you made your wish! Now then, if you send to:
1 person — your wish will be granted in 1 year / 3 people — 6 months / 5 people — 3 months / 6 people — 1 month / 7 people — 2 weeks / 8 people — 1 week / 9 people — 5 days / 10 people — 3 days / 12 people — 2 days / 15 people — 1 day / 20 people — 3 hours
If you delete this after you read it. you will have 1 year of bad luck! But... if you send it 2 of your friends you will automatically have 3 years of good luck!!!
:-)
Chuck was the originator of this email that managed to find it’s way to:
Speaking for all the aforementioned people, I want to take the time out to thank Chuck who started this by forwarding an email which subsequently was forwarded and forwarded again - each time containing the valid email addresses of the recipients.
Without Chuck’s efforts, poor spammers from around the world would have no livelihood and what a world that would be! Where would we all be without the latest info on the Nigerian money waiting for us, the easy way to buy prescription drugs, the latest developments in the world of porn, or the need to update our security profile with our personal information. What a lonely day it would be to open our email box and find it devoid of all those interesting opportunities and reminders.
Let’s hear it for CHUCK! Yaaaaaayyyyyyyyy Chuck!
Now then, let’s help Chuck receive the second part of his award.
Remember Chuck’s email? Well, if you forgot it, it’s: czubak@adelphia.net
Next time you log onto that porn site, or have to create an account for biz rate or some other phishing site, don’t forget to use Chuck’s email address as the respondent email.
YES! CHUCK LOVES SPAM! and none of us want him to go hungry so be sure to use his email otherwise poor Chuck will be down from the lack of attention and response he got from his efforts!
One more time everyone! Yaaaaaaayyyyyyy CHUCK!
Phoning it in.
So, MC OBL has made a reappearance in the news with the release of his new tape:
The vague offer of a truce — coupled with a threat of another attack on the U.S. — was made in an audiotape released by the Arab television network Al-Jazeera. It brought new attention to the al-Qaida leader after a yearlong lull in his public statements.
It’s been awhile now since MC’s last recording and since he’s had any hits. Take the latest for what it’s worth – I discount anything he says.
Funny thing is, I was thinking about this latest tape today and it occured to me there might be some kind of answering machine set up in Egypt or Oman. You know, very low tech just something you plug into a phone jack. One of those answering machines where as long as you keep talking the tape keeps going until the tape runs out. I had this mental picture of OBL at a phone booth somewhere looking for quarters or using a phone card and calling this number somewhere in Egypt or Oman.
At the beginning of the call or a day before, there would be a message like, “Hey guys, it’s Osama here. Been laying low these days but I wanted to call in and make another tape so if you can have the machine set up tomorrow that would be terrific. I’ll call in with a new message and if you guys can send the tape over to Al-Jazerra that would be cool.”
And then, the next day he just calls in and reads this thing off into the answering machine and a day or two later it’s big news. The only other guy I can remember doing something like that recently was Pat O’Brien after he left those messages on a women’s voicemail with all the sex talk (NSFW - unless you have headphones).
It’s just a funny image of this guy, disguised as a woman somewhere, standing around and talking into a phone for an hour (that’s OBL not Pat O’Brien – although I can see why some might get confused if they heard O’Brien’s comments).
So, MC OBL has made a reappearance in the news with the release of his new tape:
The vague offer of a truce — coupled with a threat of another attack on the U.S. — was made in an audiotape released by the Arab television network Al-Jazeera. It brought new attention to the al-Qaida leader after a yearlong lull in his public statements.
It’s been awhile now since MC’s last recording and since he’s had any hits. Take the latest for what it’s worth – I discount anything he says.
Funny thing is, I was thinking about this latest tape today and it occured to me there might be some kind of answering machine set up in Egypt or Oman. You know, very low tech just something you plug into a phone jack. One of those answering machines where as long as you keep talking the tape keeps going until the tape runs out. I had this mental picture of OBL at a phone booth somewhere looking for quarters or using a phone card and calling this number somewhere in Egypt or Oman.
At the beginning of the call or a day before, there would be a message like, “Hey guys, it’s Osama here. Been laying low these days but I wanted to call in and make another tape so if you can have the machine set up tomorrow that would be terrific. I’ll call in with a new message and if you guys can send the tape over to Al-Jazerra that would be cool.”
And then, the next day he just calls in and reads this thing off into the answering machine and a day or two later it’s big news. The only other guy I can remember doing something like that recently was Pat O’Brien after he left those messages on a women’s voicemail with all the sex talk (NSFW - unless you have headphones).
It’s just a funny image of this guy, disguised as a woman somewhere, standing around and talking into a phone for an hour (that’s OBL not Pat O’Brien – although I can see why some might get confused if they heard O’Brien’s comments).
Jan 19, 2006
The gates of damnation await!
I find this incredibly funny, which probably means an eternity in a very warm place:
Mrs. McMillan, you have to admit your son Jody is pretty gullible. I’m pretty sure he still thinks Spider-Man is a real guy.
I find this incredibly funny, which probably means an eternity in a very warm place:
Mrs. McMillan, you have to admit your son Jody is pretty gullible. I’m pretty sure he still thinks Spider-Man is a real guy.
Life’s near misses.
So, I was in the city for various and sundry reasons yesterday. We had a spot of interesting weather, I don’t want to jinx it but, it’s almost the end of January and I am really happy at this point. Yesterday, some kind of freak warm front came sweeping through the area. Of course, it was a dramatic change in temperature and accompanying that were really strong winds and rain. I’ll take strong winds and rain in January over the alternative any day of the week thank you very much.
Maybe though, strong winds isn’t really putting it aptly because these things were gusting up to 70 miles per hour in some spots. Tractor trailers turned over on two bridges in the area causing all sorts of delays, branches were down all over, people lost power.
Me, I drove into the city for an appointment and was walking along 8th Street. It was late afternoon, the rain was gone and the only thing which remained was the occasional gust of wind. As I’m walking up 8th just up from 6th Avenue (and desperately fighting off the compelling aroma wafting from Gray’s Papaya) to my right about a foot or so behind me is a loud crash. Me, I was on the cell at that particular moment so, it was just another thing competing for my attention. I kind of turned around, stared momentarily dumbly not quite registering what had just happened and kept walking as another pedestrian passed me and said, “You’re pretty lucky.”
And, I guess I am.
It wasn’t a big piece of glass but it was a window pane measuring about 12" X 12" which had fallen out of one of the windows of the building I had been walking in front of. I don’t know if it would have done serious damage, it fell from the third or fourth story of the building but, it certainly would have hurt.
Of course, I had nowhere near the kind of day Elayne did because of the storm, she’s lucky too!
So, I was in the city for various and sundry reasons yesterday. We had a spot of interesting weather, I don’t want to jinx it but, it’s almost the end of January and I am really happy at this point. Yesterday, some kind of freak warm front came sweeping through the area. Of course, it was a dramatic change in temperature and accompanying that were really strong winds and rain. I’ll take strong winds and rain in January over the alternative any day of the week thank you very much.
Maybe though, strong winds isn’t really putting it aptly because these things were gusting up to 70 miles per hour in some spots. Tractor trailers turned over on two bridges in the area causing all sorts of delays, branches were down all over, people lost power.
Me, I drove into the city for an appointment and was walking along 8th Street. It was late afternoon, the rain was gone and the only thing which remained was the occasional gust of wind. As I’m walking up 8th just up from 6th Avenue (and desperately fighting off the compelling aroma wafting from Gray’s Papaya) to my right about a foot or so behind me is a loud crash. Me, I was on the cell at that particular moment so, it was just another thing competing for my attention. I kind of turned around, stared momentarily dumbly not quite registering what had just happened and kept walking as another pedestrian passed me and said, “You’re pretty lucky.”
And, I guess I am.
It wasn’t a big piece of glass but it was a window pane measuring about 12" X 12" which had fallen out of one of the windows of the building I had been walking in front of. I don’t know if it would have done serious damage, it fell from the third or fourth story of the building but, it certainly would have hurt.
Of course, I had nowhere near the kind of day Elayne did because of the storm, she’s lucky too!
Be afraid, be very afraid.
How much of our lives are spent in fear? It’s something I’ve thought a lot about over the past few months.
Fear is a horrible thing. It’s used as justification in really bad decision making, whether on the personal level, a societal level, a species level. The self preservation instinct is based somewhat upon fear and that’s something you’d have a lot of trouble casting aspersions on but, when you get right down to it more often than not being afraid seldom is helpful.
The reason I bring the subject up is because I’ve come to realize I’ve spent a majority of my life being afraid of one thing or another.
I remember there was a friend I use to house sit for two decades back. I loved being able to house sit if only to get out of the crappy space I was living in at the time. The only thing I found very disarming was this painting he had done which hung prominently in the living room. It was a birds’ eye view of a small boy walking alone through an alley. It had very dramatic perspective but, the unsettling thing I found looking at it was the expression on the boy’s face.
It was a combination of sadness and fear.
The funny thing was, the painting always felt to be more an accident than anything else, I never attributed the ability or skill to my friend to capture the particular emotion so vividly. No, it was more a matter about what I brought to the table, emotional baggage. The results of a hard journey through life so, when I looked at the painting, saw the expression upon the boy’s face, it made me uncomfortable because I knew the feelings behind it all too well. The isolation etched in those features, the horror felt so deeply it seemed to ooze from his pores.
Anyway, being in a bit of an introspective phase and having to deal with quite a few crises over the last few months have made me focus on the direction I would like life to take. At least that is part of what goes in in my quieter moments. The thing I realize I want more than anything as I move forward through life is to stop being afraid, to stop allowing fear to consume or paralyze me. To vanquish the fear within me and really enjoy each day to its fullest.
Everybody’s life would be a bit better with a little less fear, case in point:
acarophobia fear of itching or of insects causing itching
acrophobia fear of heights
aerophobia fear of flying or draughts
agoraphobia fear of open spaces
agyiophobia fear of crossing busy streets
aichmophobia fear of sharp or pointed objects
ailurophobia fear of cats
algophobia fear of pain
amathophobia fear of dust
amaxophobia fear of riding in a car
ambulophobia fear of walking
anglophobia fear of England or the English
anthrophobia fear of humans
anuptaphobia fear of staying single
aquaphobia fear of water
arachibutyrophobia fear of peanut butter sticking to roof of mouth
arachnophobia fear of spiders
astraphobia fear of being struck by lightning
astrapophobia fear of thunder and lightning
automysophobia fear of being dirty
autophobia fear of solitude
ballistophobia fear of missiles
bathophobia fear of falling from a high place
batophobia fear of heights or being close to tall buildings
batrachophobia fear of frogs and toads
belonephobia fear of pins and needles
bibliophobia fear of books
blennophobia fear of slime
brontophobia fear of thunder and lightning
cancerophobia fear of cancer
cathisophobia fear of sitting
cenophobia fear of empty spaces
chrematophobia fear of money
cibophobia fear of or distaste for food
claustrophobia fear of closed spaces
climacophobia fear of falling down stairs
clinophobia fear of staying in bed
cremnophobia fear of cliffs and precipices
cyberphobia fear of computers
cynophobia fear of dogs
dromophobia fear of crossing streets
dysmorphophobia fear of physical deformities
ecophobia fear of home
eleutherophobia fear of freedom
eosophobia fear of dawn
ergasiophobia fear of work
ergophobia fear of work
erotophobia fear of sex
erythrophobia fear of red lights or of blushing
euphobia fear of good news
Francophobia fear of France or the French
gallophobia fear of France or the French
gamophobia fear of marriage
geniophobia fear of chins
genophobia fear of sex
gerascophobia fear of growing old
graphophobia fear of writing
gymnophobia fear of nudity
heliophobia fear of sunlight
herpetophobia fear of snakes
hierophobia fear of sacred things
homichlophobia fear of fog
homophobia fear of homosexuals
hydrophobia fear of water
hypsophobia fear of high places
iatrophobia fear of going to the doctor
iconophobia fear or hatred of images
kainotophobia fear of change
kakorrhaphiophobia fear of failure
kenophobia fear of empty spaces
ligyrophobia fear of loud noises
linonophobia fear of string
lygophobia fear of darkness
lyssophobia fear of hydrophobia
macrophobia fear of prolonged waiting
metrophobia fear of poetry
monophobia fear of being alone
muriphobia fear of mice
myophobia fear of mice
mysophobia fear of contamination or dirt
nebulaphobia fear of fog
necrophobia fear of corpses
negrophobia fear of blacks
neophobia fear of novelty
nosophobia fear of disease
novercaphobia fear of one's stepmother
nyctophobia fear of the night or darkness
ochlophobia fear of crowds
oenophobia fear or hatred of wine
ombrophobia fear of rain
onomatophobia fear of hearing a certain word
ophidiophobia fear of snakes
ophthalmophobia fear of being stared at
optophobia fear of opening one’s eyes
ornithophobia fear of birds
paedophobia fear of children; fear of dolls
panophobia melancholia marked by groundless fears
pantophobia fear of everything
parthophobia fear of virgins
pathophobia fear of disease
pediculophobia fear of lice
pentheraphobia fear or hatred of one’s mother-in-law
phagophobia fear of eating
phengophobia fear of daylight
phonophobia fear of noise or of speaking aloud
photophobia fear of light
pogonophobia fear of beards
psychrophobia fear of the cold
pteronophobia fear of being tickled by feathers
pyrophobia fear of fire
Russophobia fear of Russia or Russians
satanophobia fear of the devil
sciaphobia fear of shadows
scopophobia fear of being looked at
scoptophobia fear of being looked at
scotophobia fear of the dark
sitiophobia fear of food
sitophobia fear of food or eating
spectrophobia fear of looking in a mirror
symmetrophobia fear of symmetry
syphilophobia fear of syphilis
taphephobia fear of being buried alive
technophobia fear of technology
thalassophobia fear of the sea
thanatophobia fear of death
theophobia fear of God
tocophobia fear of pregnancy or childbirth
tonitrophobia fear of thunder
topophobia fear of performing; fear of certain places
toxicophobia fear of poisoning
toxiphobia fear of poison or being poisoned
triskaidekaphobia fear of the number thirteen
uranophobia fear of heaven
xenophobia fear of foreigners
zelophobia fear of jealousy
zoophobia fear of animals
How much of our lives are spent in fear? It’s something I’ve thought a lot about over the past few months.
Fear is a horrible thing. It’s used as justification in really bad decision making, whether on the personal level, a societal level, a species level. The self preservation instinct is based somewhat upon fear and that’s something you’d have a lot of trouble casting aspersions on but, when you get right down to it more often than not being afraid seldom is helpful.
The reason I bring the subject up is because I’ve come to realize I’ve spent a majority of my life being afraid of one thing or another.
I remember there was a friend I use to house sit for two decades back. I loved being able to house sit if only to get out of the crappy space I was living in at the time. The only thing I found very disarming was this painting he had done which hung prominently in the living room. It was a birds’ eye view of a small boy walking alone through an alley. It had very dramatic perspective but, the unsettling thing I found looking at it was the expression on the boy’s face.
It was a combination of sadness and fear.
The funny thing was, the painting always felt to be more an accident than anything else, I never attributed the ability or skill to my friend to capture the particular emotion so vividly. No, it was more a matter about what I brought to the table, emotional baggage. The results of a hard journey through life so, when I looked at the painting, saw the expression upon the boy’s face, it made me uncomfortable because I knew the feelings behind it all too well. The isolation etched in those features, the horror felt so deeply it seemed to ooze from his pores.
Anyway, being in a bit of an introspective phase and having to deal with quite a few crises over the last few months have made me focus on the direction I would like life to take. At least that is part of what goes in in my quieter moments. The thing I realize I want more than anything as I move forward through life is to stop being afraid, to stop allowing fear to consume or paralyze me. To vanquish the fear within me and really enjoy each day to its fullest.
Everybody’s life would be a bit better with a little less fear, case in point:
acarophobia fear of itching or of insects causing itching
acrophobia fear of heights
aerophobia fear of flying or draughts
agoraphobia fear of open spaces
agyiophobia fear of crossing busy streets
aichmophobia fear of sharp or pointed objects
ailurophobia fear of cats
algophobia fear of pain
amathophobia fear of dust
amaxophobia fear of riding in a car
ambulophobia fear of walking
anglophobia fear of England or the English
anthrophobia fear of humans
anuptaphobia fear of staying single
aquaphobia fear of water
arachibutyrophobia fear of peanut butter sticking to roof of mouth
arachnophobia fear of spiders
astraphobia fear of being struck by lightning
astrapophobia fear of thunder and lightning
automysophobia fear of being dirty
autophobia fear of solitude
ballistophobia fear of missiles
bathophobia fear of falling from a high place
batophobia fear of heights or being close to tall buildings
batrachophobia fear of frogs and toads
belonephobia fear of pins and needles
bibliophobia fear of books
blennophobia fear of slime
brontophobia fear of thunder and lightning
cancerophobia fear of cancer
cathisophobia fear of sitting
cenophobia fear of empty spaces
chrematophobia fear of money
cibophobia fear of or distaste for food
claustrophobia fear of closed spaces
climacophobia fear of falling down stairs
clinophobia fear of staying in bed
cremnophobia fear of cliffs and precipices
cyberphobia fear of computers
cynophobia fear of dogs
dromophobia fear of crossing streets
dysmorphophobia fear of physical deformities
ecophobia fear of home
eleutherophobia fear of freedom
eosophobia fear of dawn
ergasiophobia fear of work
ergophobia fear of work
erotophobia fear of sex
erythrophobia fear of red lights or of blushing
euphobia fear of good news
Francophobia fear of France or the French
gallophobia fear of France or the French
gamophobia fear of marriage
geniophobia fear of chins
genophobia fear of sex
gerascophobia fear of growing old
graphophobia fear of writing
gymnophobia fear of nudity
heliophobia fear of sunlight
herpetophobia fear of snakes
hierophobia fear of sacred things
homichlophobia fear of fog
homophobia fear of homosexuals
hydrophobia fear of water
hypsophobia fear of high places
iatrophobia fear of going to the doctor
iconophobia fear or hatred of images
kainotophobia fear of change
kakorrhaphiophobia fear of failure
kenophobia fear of empty spaces
ligyrophobia fear of loud noises
linonophobia fear of string
lygophobia fear of darkness
lyssophobia fear of hydrophobia
macrophobia fear of prolonged waiting
metrophobia fear of poetry
monophobia fear of being alone
muriphobia fear of mice
myophobia fear of mice
mysophobia fear of contamination or dirt
nebulaphobia fear of fog
necrophobia fear of corpses
negrophobia fear of blacks
neophobia fear of novelty
nosophobia fear of disease
novercaphobia fear of one's stepmother
nyctophobia fear of the night or darkness
ochlophobia fear of crowds
oenophobia fear or hatred of wine
ombrophobia fear of rain
onomatophobia fear of hearing a certain word
ophidiophobia fear of snakes
ophthalmophobia fear of being stared at
optophobia fear of opening one’s eyes
ornithophobia fear of birds
paedophobia fear of children; fear of dolls
panophobia melancholia marked by groundless fears
pantophobia fear of everything
parthophobia fear of virgins
pathophobia fear of disease
pediculophobia fear of lice
pentheraphobia fear or hatred of one’s mother-in-law
phagophobia fear of eating
phengophobia fear of daylight
phonophobia fear of noise or of speaking aloud
photophobia fear of light
pogonophobia fear of beards
psychrophobia fear of the cold
pteronophobia fear of being tickled by feathers
pyrophobia fear of fire
Russophobia fear of Russia or Russians
satanophobia fear of the devil
sciaphobia fear of shadows
scopophobia fear of being looked at
scoptophobia fear of being looked at
scotophobia fear of the dark
sitiophobia fear of food
sitophobia fear of food or eating
spectrophobia fear of looking in a mirror
symmetrophobia fear of symmetry
syphilophobia fear of syphilis
taphephobia fear of being buried alive
technophobia fear of technology
thalassophobia fear of the sea
thanatophobia fear of death
theophobia fear of God
tocophobia fear of pregnancy or childbirth
tonitrophobia fear of thunder
topophobia fear of performing; fear of certain places
toxicophobia fear of poisoning
toxiphobia fear of poison or being poisoned
triskaidekaphobia fear of the number thirteen
uranophobia fear of heaven
xenophobia fear of foreigners
zelophobia fear of jealousy
zoophobia fear of animals
Did somone step on a duck?
And speaking of flatuence (as opposed to smelling it), there’s this jewel from this week’s Savage Love advice column by Dan Savage:
I have a sexual interest in the sounds of men using the toilet. I hide a wireless telephone headset in an inconspicuous place in the bathroom of several restaurants close to my home. I can then record, from my home, the sounds of men farting and defecating. My husband is aware of this and tolerates it...
Just proving yet again one person’s nasty business is another’s guilty pleasure.
And speaking of flatuence (as opposed to smelling it), there’s this jewel from this week’s Savage Love advice column by Dan Savage:
I have a sexual interest in the sounds of men using the toilet. I hide a wireless telephone headset in an inconspicuous place in the bathroom of several restaurants close to my home. I can then record, from my home, the sounds of men farting and defecating. My husband is aware of this and tolerates it...
Just proving yet again one person’s nasty business is another’s guilty pleasure.
Howard Stern is a dirty, rotten crook.
Or, the truth behind Fartman.
I always thought the Fartman thing sounded a bit familar. I’ve been going through a lot of old stuff laying around here and I happened to have a couple of stacks of old National Lampoons when I came across the above photo funny. I can swear I’ve heard Stern speak the very words in all three speech ballons during the dream sequence.
Of course, this saw print in 1979! It’s ironic if only because part of the Stern schtick is him purporting to have reinvented the wheel. I like Stern and watched or listened to him through the years but, I do find it troubling he made such a blatant swipe. Especially since he went as far as to trademark the Fartman name! Got to love someone who swipes a concept and brands it as their own.
Or, the truth behind Fartman.
I always thought the Fartman thing sounded a bit familar. I’ve been going through a lot of old stuff laying around here and I happened to have a couple of stacks of old National Lampoons when I came across the above photo funny. I can swear I’ve heard Stern speak the very words in all three speech ballons during the dream sequence.
Of course, this saw print in 1979! It’s ironic if only because part of the Stern schtick is him purporting to have reinvented the wheel. I like Stern and watched or listened to him through the years but, I do find it troubling he made such a blatant swipe. Especially since he went as far as to trademark the Fartman name! Got to love someone who swipes a concept and brands it as their own.
Not with a roar but with a whimper. (from 12/30)
Today was an eventful day of sorts. It was the last Howard Stern show broadcast on K-ROCK. After all the years of entertainment, Stern escaped to the haven of pay radio. The last moments of his show were taken up by a loud shouting match between Hank, the angry, drunken dwarf and BeetleJuice.
I’m not one of those people that will follow Stern to the world of satellite radio, I actually don’t think it’s worth the money.
It’s not that I don’t love radio - I really do. Between some things broadcast on NPR and other shows broadcast on regular radio - I have a great love for the medium. This American Life is a huge favorite of mine, I catch Prarie Home Companion when I remember to, Car Talk, Morning Edition, All Things Considered, The Pet Show with Dr. Warren Eckstein, the Joey Reynolds show, Dr. Joy Brown, Mike and the Mad Dog, Bob Grant, Paul Harvey well, you get the idea. Those shows are just the ones still being broadcast! I can go back into the vaults and pull out a great number of radio shows I miss that are no longer on the air - even some stations that have undergone format changes (WCBS FM being the latest loss).
Radio is great because it can provide you with a background and distraction in a way TV never can - TV being a visual medium demands all of your attention, radio is somewhat less demanding in that regard. You can still work, or just putter around and get things done while radio provides you with a soundtrack to your day.
So, while I’ll miss Stern, I won’t be following him.
Stern was part of what I considered to be one of the best station eras in history. WNBC AM in the 80’s had IMUS on from 6-10 am, then the Soupy Sales show from 10 to 2 followed by Stern. I always thought Stern was a better listen in the afternoon than in the morning, you could catch the whole show and somehow the edginess of his show was better placed in the afternoon.
When NBC fired him unceremoniously during a hurricane of all things, I was very disappointed. The Boy Gary and Fred show that followed for a few weeks after Stern left NBC was a dismal failure (although you rarely hear mention of the ill-fated show today) and was a brief comma in the airwaves until Joey Reynolds took over the timeslot before NBC ultimately went out of business and sold it’s spot on the dial to SportsRadio 1050 WFAN.
Yeah, that was a long, long time ago.
Through the years, I would listen to Stern and then sometimes I would find myself going months without listening to the show having had my fill of all the vitriol and bile which seems part and parcel of his world. Choosing to start my days in a queiter and less angry fashion, I would just wander down the dial for a brief time. I just needed a break from all the rawness Stern brings to the table.
Well, he‘s gone for now - even though there was an incredible media barrage in conjunction with his departure. I’ll miss him but I have to say, as much as I liked listening to him, Howard was never as good as his own press.
Today was an eventful day of sorts. It was the last Howard Stern show broadcast on K-ROCK. After all the years of entertainment, Stern escaped to the haven of pay radio. The last moments of his show were taken up by a loud shouting match between Hank, the angry, drunken dwarf and BeetleJuice.
I’m not one of those people that will follow Stern to the world of satellite radio, I actually don’t think it’s worth the money.
It’s not that I don’t love radio - I really do. Between some things broadcast on NPR and other shows broadcast on regular radio - I have a great love for the medium. This American Life is a huge favorite of mine, I catch Prarie Home Companion when I remember to, Car Talk, Morning Edition, All Things Considered, The Pet Show with Dr. Warren Eckstein, the Joey Reynolds show, Dr. Joy Brown, Mike and the Mad Dog, Bob Grant, Paul Harvey well, you get the idea. Those shows are just the ones still being broadcast! I can go back into the vaults and pull out a great number of radio shows I miss that are no longer on the air - even some stations that have undergone format changes (WCBS FM being the latest loss).
Radio is great because it can provide you with a background and distraction in a way TV never can - TV being a visual medium demands all of your attention, radio is somewhat less demanding in that regard. You can still work, or just putter around and get things done while radio provides you with a soundtrack to your day.
So, while I’ll miss Stern, I won’t be following him.
Stern was part of what I considered to be one of the best station eras in history. WNBC AM in the 80’s had IMUS on from 6-10 am, then the Soupy Sales show from 10 to 2 followed by Stern. I always thought Stern was a better listen in the afternoon than in the morning, you could catch the whole show and somehow the edginess of his show was better placed in the afternoon.
When NBC fired him unceremoniously during a hurricane of all things, I was very disappointed. The Boy Gary and Fred show that followed for a few weeks after Stern left NBC was a dismal failure (although you rarely hear mention of the ill-fated show today) and was a brief comma in the airwaves until Joey Reynolds took over the timeslot before NBC ultimately went out of business and sold it’s spot on the dial to SportsRadio 1050 WFAN.
Yeah, that was a long, long time ago.
Through the years, I would listen to Stern and then sometimes I would find myself going months without listening to the show having had my fill of all the vitriol and bile which seems part and parcel of his world. Choosing to start my days in a queiter and less angry fashion, I would just wander down the dial for a brief time. I just needed a break from all the rawness Stern brings to the table.
Well, he‘s gone for now - even though there was an incredible media barrage in conjunction with his departure. I’ll miss him but I have to say, as much as I liked listening to him, Howard was never as good as his own press.
Jan 16, 2006
Lest we forget.
I have a surname that ends in a vowel but, I can always change my name. I can go and anglicize it, shorten it, or take another name entirely.
Why?
Mainly, because people can (and do) make assumptions about me based around my surname.
It does make a difference.
I know it. But, whatever difference it has made, it hasn’t impacted me much. It’s not like I carry around a big sign or wear a t-shirt with my name prominently displayed on it. I can escape the prejudice inherent in my surname, I am fortunate in I don’t have features clearly putting me into any specific ethnic group or excluding me from the dominant one in this country.
What prompts me to speak about this topic?
Today is a federal holiday - some people taking more notice of it than others. and admittedly, I never placed much import on MLK day but, I was reading something Christopher Priest wrote and it gave me a reason to rethink the significance of the day:
If white people overcame centuries of violent repression, I guarantee you there'd not only BE a day to commemorate that struggle, but that the entire country would shut down to observe it.
And while Priest’s observations on the holiday provided me with some food for thought, reading of his own experiences was a reminder of just how different life can be based solely on skin color:
I was the office mascot. The little black kid. The co-key operator for the Xerox machine (with John Romita, Jr., who enthusiastically relinquished the top slot to me). My how liberal we are. Jim, go grab this, “In a jig.” Staffers, some still in the biz, used to come by and rub my head “for good luck.” One staffer kept little jigaboo figurines on his desk: warped, offensive little gnomes in white face eating watermelon. Denys Cowan stole one off of this guy’s desk and gave it to me as a Christmas present. I keep it on my desk here to remind me some of these people still work there.
Oh sure, our country today is a politically correct society but bigotry and prejudice are still very much a part of some people’s daily lives. I can’t begin to fathom what it is like to be black in America and I have to remind myself there are still serious problems where the issue of race is concerned. When I wrote about my friend Kevin three years ago, it was perhaps the closest I could come to identifying with the issue because it affected somebody who was very important to me, a good friend, a nice person, who felt this weight burdening them, this inescapable reminder which would confront them when they least expected it.
As Kevin described it he had a goal (which he did in fact achieve) which was to make it to the age of 35 without winding up dead or in jail. When I think about it now it makes me really, really sad. Not that Kevin made his goal for which I am infinitely happy but, that our society is such, it made it really clear to him there was only so much he could expect.
Sometimes, I think a lot of what happens in our society today is based around the class of economics. Capitalism in it’s purest form as a way of perpetuating discrimination. If capitalism works, there have to be winners and losers, no? This past year was a reminder of just what is going on in our country - when Americans could be abandoned the way they were in New Orleans after Katrina.
It wasn’t just the abandonment, which was horrible in and of itself, it was more that it was an indictment of our country. Yes, pull back the curtain behind all the go-go economic success, the booming stock market and you come to realize there is some real poverty still out there in this nation. If we were back in the seventies, now is the time I would loudly proclaim, “WE CAN PUT AN AMERICAN ON THE MOON SO WHY CAN’T WE END POVERTY IN THIS COUNTRY?!?!”
Somehow those goals have been left behind us. We, as a nation are prepared to get wrapped up in the sloganeering of a media driven society. A society where, “No child is left behind” or where we conduct a “War on Evildoers” but, all these slogans lack true substance.
Anyway, I digress.
Priest was right on the money about the holiday, it should be more important to everyone than it is. How can a nation which is supposed to have its precepts based upon the concepts of freedom and liberty treat any such holiday in a diminutive fashion? In doing so, doesn’t it diminish us all?
I think things are better for people in the country today than they were when I was young (in terms of race relations and prejudice) but, they still have a very, very long way to go. I don’t know if a day will come in my lifetime where people stop defining themselves according to the color of their skin - hell, over the last decade and a half there has been more proof to me that people want to focus more on what differentiates them than what brings them together. I imagine though that was the intent behind the holiday to begin with, simply put honoring the birth of a man who embodied hope, hope for a better world. That’s something we all should take note of and respect.
I have a surname that ends in a vowel but, I can always change my name. I can go and anglicize it, shorten it, or take another name entirely.
Why?
Mainly, because people can (and do) make assumptions about me based around my surname.
It does make a difference.
I know it. But, whatever difference it has made, it hasn’t impacted me much. It’s not like I carry around a big sign or wear a t-shirt with my name prominently displayed on it. I can escape the prejudice inherent in my surname, I am fortunate in I don’t have features clearly putting me into any specific ethnic group or excluding me from the dominant one in this country.
What prompts me to speak about this topic?
Today is a federal holiday - some people taking more notice of it than others. and admittedly, I never placed much import on MLK day but, I was reading something Christopher Priest wrote and it gave me a reason to rethink the significance of the day:
If white people overcame centuries of violent repression, I guarantee you there'd not only BE a day to commemorate that struggle, but that the entire country would shut down to observe it.
And while Priest’s observations on the holiday provided me with some food for thought, reading of his own experiences was a reminder of just how different life can be based solely on skin color:
I was the office mascot. The little black kid. The co-key operator for the Xerox machine (with John Romita, Jr., who enthusiastically relinquished the top slot to me). My how liberal we are. Jim, go grab this, “In a jig.” Staffers, some still in the biz, used to come by and rub my head “for good luck.” One staffer kept little jigaboo figurines on his desk: warped, offensive little gnomes in white face eating watermelon. Denys Cowan stole one off of this guy’s desk and gave it to me as a Christmas present. I keep it on my desk here to remind me some of these people still work there.
Oh sure, our country today is a politically correct society but bigotry and prejudice are still very much a part of some people’s daily lives. I can’t begin to fathom what it is like to be black in America and I have to remind myself there are still serious problems where the issue of race is concerned. When I wrote about my friend Kevin three years ago, it was perhaps the closest I could come to identifying with the issue because it affected somebody who was very important to me, a good friend, a nice person, who felt this weight burdening them, this inescapable reminder which would confront them when they least expected it.
As Kevin described it he had a goal (which he did in fact achieve) which was to make it to the age of 35 without winding up dead or in jail. When I think about it now it makes me really, really sad. Not that Kevin made his goal for which I am infinitely happy but, that our society is such, it made it really clear to him there was only so much he could expect.
Sometimes, I think a lot of what happens in our society today is based around the class of economics. Capitalism in it’s purest form as a way of perpetuating discrimination. If capitalism works, there have to be winners and losers, no? This past year was a reminder of just what is going on in our country - when Americans could be abandoned the way they were in New Orleans after Katrina.
It wasn’t just the abandonment, which was horrible in and of itself, it was more that it was an indictment of our country. Yes, pull back the curtain behind all the go-go economic success, the booming stock market and you come to realize there is some real poverty still out there in this nation. If we were back in the seventies, now is the time I would loudly proclaim, “WE CAN PUT AN AMERICAN ON THE MOON SO WHY CAN’T WE END POVERTY IN THIS COUNTRY?!?!”
Somehow those goals have been left behind us. We, as a nation are prepared to get wrapped up in the sloganeering of a media driven society. A society where, “No child is left behind” or where we conduct a “War on Evildoers” but, all these slogans lack true substance.
Anyway, I digress.
Priest was right on the money about the holiday, it should be more important to everyone than it is. How can a nation which is supposed to have its precepts based upon the concepts of freedom and liberty treat any such holiday in a diminutive fashion? In doing so, doesn’t it diminish us all?
I think things are better for people in the country today than they were when I was young (in terms of race relations and prejudice) but, they still have a very, very long way to go. I don’t know if a day will come in my lifetime where people stop defining themselves according to the color of their skin - hell, over the last decade and a half there has been more proof to me that people want to focus more on what differentiates them than what brings them together. I imagine though that was the intent behind the holiday to begin with, simply put honoring the birth of a man who embodied hope, hope for a better world. That’s something we all should take note of and respect.
Jan 15, 2006
While we’re talking about the subject...
It’s as good a time as any to take a gander over the stir caused by one of the more infamous examples of bad behavior and the dialog it stirred back in 2004 when the Comics Journal ran a certain editors’ obituary.
This guy’s hands are practically crawling up my dress under the table. Jo got up to go to the ladies’ room and he grabbed me and tried to shove his tongue down my throat.
It was just the old hand on the thigh, hand on the shoulder, hand on the arm, not letting go unless you pull yourself away strongly enough to leave bruises.
(When a 17-year-old Jill Thompson tried to shake his hand) he put his hand out and honked my boob.
The only time I ever spoke to the man, he told me in a condescending tone, “You don’t look like a writer,” then attempted to cop a feel.
It’s as good a time as any to take a gander over the stir caused by one of the more infamous examples of bad behavior and the dialog it stirred back in 2004 when the Comics Journal ran a certain editors’ obituary.
This guy’s hands are practically crawling up my dress under the table. Jo got up to go to the ladies’ room and he grabbed me and tried to shove his tongue down my throat.
—Colleen Doran
It was just the old hand on the thigh, hand on the shoulder, hand on the arm, not letting go unless you pull yourself away strongly enough to leave bruises.
—Jo Duffy
(When a 17-year-old Jill Thompson tried to shake his hand) he put his hand out and honked my boob.
—Jill Thompson
The only time I ever spoke to the man, he told me in a condescending tone, “You don’t look like a writer,” then attempted to cop a feel.
—Poppy Z. Brite
Synchronicity.
I’ve read a few things regarding an incident that took place recently. In a strange bit of coincidence, I came across this story and thought I would email it to Ronee Garcia but I can’t seem to a way to email the woman without registering on some board so, I figured to just post it here and hope it finds its way to her. Given all the debate the incident has stirred I thought it might just be further validation of her argument.
Beating the Erasers.
Susan Drury tells the story of what happens when one of the most respected men in town gets accused of sexual harassment by one of the most trusted women in town. For a lot of the townspeople it was a difficult decision, but they chose to believe him over her. And some of them didn't change their minds, even when the man was later revealed to be a murderer. (21 minutes)
Clicking on the title will download the RealAudio file and clicking on the body will take you to the synopsis of the This American Life episode.
I’ve read a few things regarding an incident that took place recently. In a strange bit of coincidence, I came across this story and thought I would email it to Ronee Garcia but I can’t seem to a way to email the woman without registering on some board so, I figured to just post it here and hope it finds its way to her. Given all the debate the incident has stirred I thought it might just be further validation of her argument.
Beating the Erasers.
Susan Drury tells the story of what happens when one of the most respected men in town gets accused of sexual harassment by one of the most trusted women in town. For a lot of the townspeople it was a difficult decision, but they chose to believe him over her. And some of them didn't change their minds, even when the man was later revealed to be a murderer. (21 minutes)
Clicking on the title will download the RealAudio file and clicking on the body will take you to the synopsis of the This American Life episode.
True tales for a Sunday morning!
You can’t make stories like this up. The guy’s name even adds to the bizarre circumstances surrounding this one:
Jerry Colaitis of Upper Brookville, N.Y., injured his neck while attempting to dodge a piece of hot shrimp playfully tossed at him by a table-side hibachi chef, attorney Andre Ferenzo of Roslyn told the jury.
That neck injury necessitated an operation. An apparent infection forced another procedure.
Months later, Colaitis was dead of a blood-borne infection...
You can’t make stories like this up. The guy’s name even adds to the bizarre circumstances surrounding this one:
Jerry Colaitis of Upper Brookville, N.Y., injured his neck while attempting to dodge a piece of hot shrimp playfully tossed at him by a table-side hibachi chef, attorney Andre Ferenzo of Roslyn told the jury.
That neck injury necessitated an operation. An apparent infection forced another procedure.
Months later, Colaitis was dead of a blood-borne infection...
Jan 14, 2006
Stupid people?
Last night John Stossel hosted a special broadcast of ABC’s 20/20 titled Stupid in America. At one point, Stossel compared public schools in our country to other monopolies, specifically public utilities such as the phone company or the electric company. His argument encompassed the theory that competition was good and that by allowing for there to be competition in the public education system in the form of tax credits and vouchers, education in this country would undergo a dramatic improvement and reform.
It’s a nice theory, really, it is.
But, I’m not buying it.
I’m still on the fence about the whole deregulation thing and whether or not it’s been good in the long run. Monopolies like the electric company were deregulated out of business and suddenly we had rolling blackouts in California a few years back, the whole manipulation of the energy market by the likes of people such as Enron and also there seems to be a growing lack of investment in the upgrade of power generating facilities and the networks that deliver them - there just isn’t as much of a financial incentive for those old monopolies to upgrade their networks in order to make it easier to deliver power other companies will charge users for.
Same thing goes for the phone company. I agree it’s considerably cheaper to make a long distance phone call these days but, much of what has happened in the telecommunications industry is a result of technological breakthroughs that were well on their way. I don’t think deregulation made any difference in the explosive growth of the internet over the last decade. There are outside forces which came to bear on the telecommunications industry foreseen long before they broke up the Bells.
In each instance of comparison too, Stossel is comparing companies providing a very clear, straightforward service. Your lights are either on or their not. Your phone either works or it doesn’t. There may be variables in the amount the consumer pays or in the areas of coverage (in the instance of phone service) but, these are very concrete services being delivered.
I can’t imagine education being such a clear cut service and I think Stossel has done education in this country a great disservice with his oversimplification of the issue and his poor comparisons. Students have as much to do with their success in the classroom as do educators. Families have an even more important role in the formation and education of children in this country. The breakdown of families, the need for households to have dual incomes where both parents are working, the changing expectations for schools as something more than places where a child will go just to get an education all factor in to the state of education in our country.
One instance on the show cited by the online synopsis, talked about students going into schools in Washington DC (hand-picked by the city’s education people) and videotaping what goes on in school. There, a student apparently took off his shirt and started dancing around the teacher which Stossel used to illustrate the breakdown of education in even what are thought of as the best of schools but, I think it’s here where he totally missed the mark.
What about the parents of that kid? Who is raising a child that believes he can be so bold as to act out in this manner? Why does it become the teachers’ fault? If a child is bought up with a lack of respect for his elders or those in authority, how does it become the educators who have to take on the brunt of the blame? If you put a child in a position where they feel they no longer have to fear the repercussions of their actions how does that becomes the educators fault?
It reminds me of an oft told parable I’ve noted on occasion. I was speaking to a relative with two young girls in school. We were talking about education in this country and I wanted to underline something to him. I asked when he was a child if a teacher ever struck him or if he got in trouble in school what the reaction would be when he got home. His response was much in the way I remember my own experiences in that if you got in trouble in school, you would wind up paying for it when you got home - your parents would be asking the question, What did you do wrong?!”
Then I queried if a teacher dared strike his own little angels what his response would be and it was, “What did the teacher do wrong?!?!”
If kids don’t behave all the time around their parents, where is the logic in assuming that the little dear is going to behave once their out of sight of their parents? I mean, honestly! What planet are we on where children are these perfect little angels who behave politely and respectfully at all times? Within the last few years, the New York City school system ended the practice of “social promotion.” When I first heard about social promotion I was dumbstruck. Little Johnny can’t be left back a grade because it might damage his sense of self! Who came up with that one?
Let’s see how this prepares a child for the real world? MMmmmm, let me get this straight, if you don’t do the work and fail to make the grade they’ll not only keep you at your job but give you a raise as well?
Thankfully, social promotion was ended but, the amazing thing was the incredible uproar it caused parents and others who went out and demonstrated in droves against ending the practice! Teachers are not babysitters, they’re not the ones who can provide a child with an authority figure in their life if a parent is too busy or can’t be bothered to assume that role and certainly they have a tougher time doing their job if the very same parents who relinquish these obligations somehow hamstring them further by refusing to at least support teachers when they do try to correct the problem.
I think education in our country is one of the most important issues facing us as a society. It’s of overwhelming importance to have a well-educated citizenry without question. It’s the thing that will insure our nation’s future as a world leader. There is no question we need to look at ways to improve the educational system in our country but, let’s not forget the role parents have in the education of their children. We can go about enacting all kinds of reform, creating millions of charter schools and revamping the whole system in this country as we know it but, if we don’t look at the whole issue and the factors involved it will be akin to building a house on a bad foundation and we’ll just wind up spinning our wheels into stupidity.
Besides, I’ve got to imagine the monopoly in China isn’t hurting the educational system in that country (If Stossel’s observations are accurate - that wouldn’t be the case but it is). A standardized cirriculum controlled by the central government is still in place despite other reforms but, China stills emphasizes vocational training in a way that has fallen by the wayside in our own country. Schools are not businesses supplying a standardized commodity like phone or electric service, they are delivery method for information. As such, it is equally incumbent on the receiver whether or not the transfer of the information is achieved successfully.
Last night John Stossel hosted a special broadcast of ABC’s 20/20 titled Stupid in America. At one point, Stossel compared public schools in our country to other monopolies, specifically public utilities such as the phone company or the electric company. His argument encompassed the theory that competition was good and that by allowing for there to be competition in the public education system in the form of tax credits and vouchers, education in this country would undergo a dramatic improvement and reform.
It’s a nice theory, really, it is.
But, I’m not buying it.
I’m still on the fence about the whole deregulation thing and whether or not it’s been good in the long run. Monopolies like the electric company were deregulated out of business and suddenly we had rolling blackouts in California a few years back, the whole manipulation of the energy market by the likes of people such as Enron and also there seems to be a growing lack of investment in the upgrade of power generating facilities and the networks that deliver them - there just isn’t as much of a financial incentive for those old monopolies to upgrade their networks in order to make it easier to deliver power other companies will charge users for.
Same thing goes for the phone company. I agree it’s considerably cheaper to make a long distance phone call these days but, much of what has happened in the telecommunications industry is a result of technological breakthroughs that were well on their way. I don’t think deregulation made any difference in the explosive growth of the internet over the last decade. There are outside forces which came to bear on the telecommunications industry foreseen long before they broke up the Bells.
In each instance of comparison too, Stossel is comparing companies providing a very clear, straightforward service. Your lights are either on or their not. Your phone either works or it doesn’t. There may be variables in the amount the consumer pays or in the areas of coverage (in the instance of phone service) but, these are very concrete services being delivered.
I can’t imagine education being such a clear cut service and I think Stossel has done education in this country a great disservice with his oversimplification of the issue and his poor comparisons. Students have as much to do with their success in the classroom as do educators. Families have an even more important role in the formation and education of children in this country. The breakdown of families, the need for households to have dual incomes where both parents are working, the changing expectations for schools as something more than places where a child will go just to get an education all factor in to the state of education in our country.
One instance on the show cited by the online synopsis, talked about students going into schools in Washington DC (hand-picked by the city’s education people) and videotaping what goes on in school. There, a student apparently took off his shirt and started dancing around the teacher which Stossel used to illustrate the breakdown of education in even what are thought of as the best of schools but, I think it’s here where he totally missed the mark.
What about the parents of that kid? Who is raising a child that believes he can be so bold as to act out in this manner? Why does it become the teachers’ fault? If a child is bought up with a lack of respect for his elders or those in authority, how does it become the educators who have to take on the brunt of the blame? If you put a child in a position where they feel they no longer have to fear the repercussions of their actions how does that becomes the educators fault?
It reminds me of an oft told parable I’ve noted on occasion. I was speaking to a relative with two young girls in school. We were talking about education in this country and I wanted to underline something to him. I asked when he was a child if a teacher ever struck him or if he got in trouble in school what the reaction would be when he got home. His response was much in the way I remember my own experiences in that if you got in trouble in school, you would wind up paying for it when you got home - your parents would be asking the question, What did you do wrong?!”
Then I queried if a teacher dared strike his own little angels what his response would be and it was, “What did the teacher do wrong?!?!”
If kids don’t behave all the time around their parents, where is the logic in assuming that the little dear is going to behave once their out of sight of their parents? I mean, honestly! What planet are we on where children are these perfect little angels who behave politely and respectfully at all times? Within the last few years, the New York City school system ended the practice of “social promotion.” When I first heard about social promotion I was dumbstruck. Little Johnny can’t be left back a grade because it might damage his sense of self! Who came up with that one?
Let’s see how this prepares a child for the real world? MMmmmm, let me get this straight, if you don’t do the work and fail to make the grade they’ll not only keep you at your job but give you a raise as well?
Thankfully, social promotion was ended but, the amazing thing was the incredible uproar it caused parents and others who went out and demonstrated in droves against ending the practice! Teachers are not babysitters, they’re not the ones who can provide a child with an authority figure in their life if a parent is too busy or can’t be bothered to assume that role and certainly they have a tougher time doing their job if the very same parents who relinquish these obligations somehow hamstring them further by refusing to at least support teachers when they do try to correct the problem.
I think education in our country is one of the most important issues facing us as a society. It’s of overwhelming importance to have a well-educated citizenry without question. It’s the thing that will insure our nation’s future as a world leader. There is no question we need to look at ways to improve the educational system in our country but, let’s not forget the role parents have in the education of their children. We can go about enacting all kinds of reform, creating millions of charter schools and revamping the whole system in this country as we know it but, if we don’t look at the whole issue and the factors involved it will be akin to building a house on a bad foundation and we’ll just wind up spinning our wheels into stupidity.
Besides, I’ve got to imagine the monopoly in China isn’t hurting the educational system in that country (If Stossel’s observations are accurate - that wouldn’t be the case but it is). A standardized cirriculum controlled by the central government is still in place despite other reforms but, China stills emphasizes vocational training in a way that has fallen by the wayside in our own country. Schools are not businesses supplying a standardized commodity like phone or electric service, they are delivery method for information. As such, it is equally incumbent on the receiver whether or not the transfer of the information is achieved successfully.
Jan 13, 2006
Jan 12, 2006
I fail to notice.
“All that is required for evil to prevail
is for good men to do nothing.”
A horrible thing has happened - I come to realize I have become inured to the antics of the current administration. In a sense I imagine it is a victory of sorts for George Jr and Co. and a loss for many of us. Watching, hearing or reading about each new transgression on the civil liberties of our citizens no longer surprises or shocks me in the way it once might have.
I now sit back and await the days for the mid-term election, hoping against hope that some kind of serious push can be made to take the executive branch to task for its wild spending habits, gross mismanagement of resources and waste of public good will.
Whatever opportunity existed in the days following September ’01 to significantly alter and unite or nation are rapidly falling by the wayside. It’s not about Afghanistan, it’s not about Iraq, not anymore for me - it‘s about seeing things like the aftermath of Katrina, a growing trade deficit, rising federal debt, an increasing loss of jobs in the manufacturing sector, chipping away at Social Security, no real tort reform and a lack of any true progress in controlling the costs of medical care, insurance and drugs - don’t even get me going about education.
Like the song goes, I’ve Become Comfortably Numb.
I’m numb yes, but that doesn’t mean I’m asleep though. I’m just waiting. Counting the days until the next election. Tick, tick, tick, tick. All I’m hoping for is that the democrats can get their act together to send a strong, clear message that will resonate not just with their loyal base but, with crossover voters like me. It won’t be such a hard task this time around.
is for good men to do nothing.”
— Edmund Burke
A horrible thing has happened - I come to realize I have become inured to the antics of the current administration. In a sense I imagine it is a victory of sorts for George Jr and Co. and a loss for many of us. Watching, hearing or reading about each new transgression on the civil liberties of our citizens no longer surprises or shocks me in the way it once might have.
I now sit back and await the days for the mid-term election, hoping against hope that some kind of serious push can be made to take the executive branch to task for its wild spending habits, gross mismanagement of resources and waste of public good will.
Whatever opportunity existed in the days following September ’01 to significantly alter and unite or nation are rapidly falling by the wayside. It’s not about Afghanistan, it’s not about Iraq, not anymore for me - it‘s about seeing things like the aftermath of Katrina, a growing trade deficit, rising federal debt, an increasing loss of jobs in the manufacturing sector, chipping away at Social Security, no real tort reform and a lack of any true progress in controlling the costs of medical care, insurance and drugs - don’t even get me going about education.
Like the song goes, I’ve Become Comfortably Numb.
I’m numb yes, but that doesn’t mean I’m asleep though. I’m just waiting. Counting the days until the next election. Tick, tick, tick, tick. All I’m hoping for is that the democrats can get their act together to send a strong, clear message that will resonate not just with their loyal base but, with crossover voters like me. It won’t be such a hard task this time around.
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