"We've Got A Lot To Be Thankful For"

It's nice to finally have a break, though it's not nearly as long a break as I'd like. It also seems as though, given all of the social obligations Michelle and I have this weekend, we'll be even busier on our days off than we would be going to work. I think I'll need a vacation from my vacation.

A Wednesday afternoon nap and a nice, relaxing evening here at the house have done wonders for my mental health. The cat and I are currently sequestered on the couch, though I think the cat is quite a bit more comfortable than I am.

Our fish keep having babies. There's at least two dozen fish in the tank now, possibly topping 30 even. We think the male fish is the one that has a broken swim bladder (a condition which makes it impossible for him to float, so he tends to sink to the bottom of the tank. This apparently does not prevent him from gettin' it on with the ladies.

~chuck

Song of the Moment: Glen Phillips, "Thankful"

"So Hip To Be Square"

I completed my first week of actual tutoring yesterday. The more I do this, the easier it seems to be. The system they've put in place is pretty straightforward and easy to follow, it turns out, and for the most part I enjoy what I'm doing (when I can get past my nervousness at jumping into a new, if only part-time, job). Working with elementary school students is very different than working with high schoolers. Part of it is their attitude: these kids haven't hit that point where learning is an unpleasant or undesirable thing yet. I remember high school with at least a measure of clarity still (I mean, it's only been a decade since I was there), and I do recall a certain reluctance to listen to most of my teachers and a general lack of desire to work or put effort into things. Admittedly, I apparently had the same lack of initiative back in elementary school and middle school, at least according to my parents, so maybe I'm not a good case study. But these kids, for the most part, are really enthusiastic about the tutoring, and they generally have a good attitude and do whatever I put in front of them.

Thanksgiving is fast approaching. I guess we're doing it with Michelle's folks again this year, as has become our tradition. I do admit that I rather miss some of my old traditions, such as falling asleep on the couch while football plays on the TV.

We're still trying to figure out what we're doing for Christmas: staying here or going up to New York. I'd personally like to go to Oklahoma again, but I know it's unrealistic and not something we can really handle again just yet. We're thinking about it for next year, though, which'd be nice. And I'll see the family in March anyway for Clif's wedding...and again in May for Scott's wedding.

Part of me really wants to hear the new Guns 'N' Roses album, Chinese Democracy, that comes out in a week and a half or so. Not because I particularly like the band, but because any album that took something like 15 years to get recorded is either going to be pretty solid or really, really crappy. I kinda lean towards crappy, but like I said, I'm not really a fan.

~chuck

Song of the Moment: Huey Lewis and the News, "Hip to be Square"

Nerdin' It Up

So it turns out my apartment complex is just full of giant nerds. Nerds even bigger than me, if you can believe it.

Don't believe it? Take a look...




A Star Wars reference and a Superman reference? Side by side, even! Truly, this is a wonderful complex to live in.

~chuck

Song of the Moment: Donovan, "Sunshine Superman"

Rock the Vote

I'm out voting early this morning because I have tutor training later today and wanted to make sure I still had the chance. It really is strange being in such a place as Northern Virginia, where people take politics so seriously and so many of them are willin to stand in line at the crack of dawn to vote.

Regardless of which candidate you favor, I encourage everyone who can to get out there and vote today. I don't have to tell you just how important or critical or historic this election is. I know people are getting burnt out on all the election coverage, but don't let the media saturation keep you from doing what you should.

~chuck

Song of the Moment: Bruce Springsteen, "This American Land"

"Knock Your Can On Down"

Michelle's been a wee bit sick this weekend, having actually taken off part of Friday from work to get some sleep and try to fight off a more serious illness. She seems to be doing better, and will hopefully not miss anymore work because of this malady.

As a general rule, I try not to discuss politics with my family. I used to think I was a political moderate, but my time here in Virginia has proven to me that I'm actually just a liberal who didn't know it. Most of my family, true Oklahomans that they are, are quite conservative. Knowing this, and also knowing that they don't actually follow politics the way that I do (what with living within spitting distance of the nation's capital), I recognize that trying to change their minds about anything political is a task akin to Sisyphus: I can keep rolling the stone of fact and whatnot up the hill, but their opinions are just gonna shove it right back down to the bottom of the hill.

This isn't to say my family's ignorant; far from it: my parents are both college-educated, as are some of my grandparents, and the ones who don't have "fancy college learnin'" are still quite intelligent in that "I can fix things with my hands and know how the world in Oklahoma works" sort of way. None of them (with the exception of my brother, Clif) has any sort of historical or political science training, or really understands how politics work. Clif does, and it's possible to have an intelligent discussion on the issues with him, even if we don't agree on things.

With the rest of my family, though, it just isn't possible. I know what I believe to be right, and I know that they disagree. I know I'm not going to change their minds, and they know they're not going to change mine. So we...don't talk about it.

Anyway, yeah, I don't talk about politics with my family. Does mean that, come November 4, one side or the other may do some gloating that the other doesn't want to hear. It's a very distinct possibility.

And now, a kitten!

~chuck

Song of the Moment: The White Stripes, "Your Southern Can Is Mine"

"Don't You Give No Jive To Me"

We finally set up the new fish tank over the long weekend. As I'd suspected, setting it up didn't take more than an hour, it was just difficult for us to find the time and energy to spend that hour getting things up and running.

The tank looks great, though. I'll try to post a picture of it when I think about it.

Spent a lot of time last week listening to the latest in Dylan's Bootleg Series (volume 8, for those keeping score at home). It's nice to hear unreleased and alternate stuff from the past couple of decades (it's hard to believe that the 1980s are a couple of decades ago. Ugh! Like I need to feel old or something). I do have one beef, though: some of the song selection was a little week. For instance, did we need two different versions of "Mississippi" and "Dignity?" Honestly, "Dignity" isn't that great a song to begin with, and one version would've been more than enough. Why not some more of his soundtrack stuff, or maybe an alternate take of "Things Have Changed" (from the fantastic Wonderboys soundtrack)? I'm also still waiting for him to actually release the amazing solo acoustic version he did of "I'll Remember You" on the movie Masked and Anonymous. I mean, it was absolutely gorgeous, but wasn't anywhere to be found on the soundtrack to that film. C'mon, Dylan, it's a great reinterpretation of your own work!

I notice how Apple's put out the new MacBooks and MacBook Pros this week. I know that my own computer is still in perfect working order and doesn't need to be replaced yet, but I can't help salivating over these things. I am a little put off by the fact that they've completely done away with the mouse button, though. I mean, I get that the touchpad has reached some sort of new plateau or whatever, but I'm old fashioned and liked having a button.

Also, I'm afraid it'll just be that much easier for the cats to jump up on the computer and accidentally purchase a song from iTunes.

I have an interview on Thursday for an after-school tutoring job. Don't ask me why I want to spend more of my time working.

I leave you with this: the cats spent a good half hour watching me clean out the old fish tank a couple of weeks ago. They were absolutely fascinated by it. They are also tiny as hell still, even though they're already over a year old. Michelle and I think they will remain tiny forever, 'cause other cats we've seen that are younger than they are significantly bigger. Our cats are scrappier, though.

~chuck

Song of the Moment: Blind Willie McTell, "Southern Can Is Mine"

"I Am A Warrior"

So a pencil company, Mirado, makes a pencil called the Black Warrior.

Personally, when I think of the term "Black Warrior," I think of this:



That's totally not what you get in the store, though.

~chuck

Song of the Moment: Jenny Lewis and Elvis Costello, "Carpetbagger"

"Maria Came From Nashville"

We've made it through the first month of school. Michelle's settled into the reading position pretty well. In a way, it seems like it's what she was always supposed to do. She also knows she'll be teaching at the school at least a year past the time it takes her to earn her degree, so there's an element of job security there which is nice.

We've been celebrating her new position by updating our wardrobe. I hadn't really bought new clothes since...well, basically since I moved out here. I'd purchased a few shirts and a couple pairs of jeans, but that was three years ago. New clothes were in order for both of us, and I think we look pretty spiffy. Michelle has decided that this is the Year of the Cardigan, and to that end she's purchased a few that are very versatile and look really nice. As for me, I picked up a blazer jacket thing that's a little more casual than a sports coat or suit jacket. I basically wore it all last week, regardless of what shirt I had on underneath. Each outfit had approval from Michelle, but I secretly think she was sending me out of the house looking like a reject from Beverley Hills 90210 on occasion. I do have an inordinate love for the jacket, though.

The weather's starting to turn, and I for one couldn't be happier. Late fall and winter are always my favorite time of the year, even if it does mean occasionally having to scrape ice off the windshield. Plus, it gives me an excuse to wear that new jacket all the more often.

I've been digging a band called The Gaslight Anthem lately. They've got a Hold Steady/Bruce Springsteen vibe that's great, and the energy in their music just grabs you by the throat and doesn't let go. I heartily recommend their latest, the 59 Sound, to anyone looking for exciting new music.

~chuck

Song of the Moment: The Gaslight Anthem, "High and Lonesome"

"Hungry Like The Wolf"

I have only become more of a geek as I've aged. I mean, I wasn't really sure it was possible, but compare me ten years ago to me now, and it's pretty clear that the geek quotient has risen considerably.

Me Ten Years Ago
Played Magic: The Gathering (25 Geek Points)
Watched anime, including Dragonball Z (50 Geek Points)
Owned all the Star Wars films on VHS (10 Geek Points)
Read sci-fi/fantasy books for pleasure (20 Geek Points)
Read roughly 50 webcomics on a regular basis (50 Geek Points)
Total Geek Points: 155


Me Today
Play/Game Master a Star Wars Role Playing Game at school (40 Geek Points)
Own an entire bookshelf of Comic Book Trade Paper Backs (50 Geek Points)
Own all of the Star Wars films on DVD (20 Geek Points, 'cause I re-bought them)
Watch the DC Animated Universe shows (Batman, Superman, Justice League, etc.) (25 Geek Points)
Read roughly 20 webcomics on a regular basis (20 Geek Points)
Watch Doctor Who (25 Geek Points)
Total Geek Points: 180

Okay, so maybe not as wide a gulf as I thought, but it's still there. And I traded in some lower geek interests (Magic) for some higher ones (comic books).

Speaking of comic books, I've started following a few titles in their actual monthly issue format rather than waiting for trades. I'm trying to keep the number of titles I follow to a minimum, 'cause I feel that paying $3 for a 26 page comic is a bit expensive. But here's what I've been reading...

Wonder Woman: Mostly 'cause Gail Simone is writing, and I love her stuff. The first story arc she wrote was great, the second one was okay, but the third one left me a little cold. It was too scattered and disjointed, and I felt that, while Simone's got a great grasp on the character of Wonder Woman, she's not really sure what story she wants to tell with the character yet. This month's issue, though, with her boyfriend Nemesis meeting her mother, was pretty great. The second half of the story with the movie thing and all was pretty cool, too. This is the sort of story I was expecting out of Simone.

Secret Six: Speaking of Gail Simone comics, I'm also digging Secret Six. The first issue just came out, and it maintains the spirit of the original six-issue miniseries pretty well. The relationships of the main characters, while pretty screwed up, make a whole lot of sense in the context of their world. I'm really excited to see where this series is going.

Final Crisis: The only reason I'm reading this is that I have great faith in Grant Morrison. I'm not following any of the spinoffs, nor do I have any desire to. Our Lord and Savior Grant is enough for me.

Invincible Iron Man: This is a great title. I've just started getting into Matt Fraction's work (his run with co-writer Ed Brubaker and artist David Aja on Immortal Iron Fist was awesome), and this book is absolutely great. The tone and story are excellent, the characters are spot-on, and it's significantly more interesting than any of the other Iron Man titles currently available (I'm looking at you, Director of S.H.I.E.L.D.). The only thing that bugs me is the art. You can tell that, especially in certain places, it's all based on photo references. The people feel too stiff. And the digital coloring doesn't help much. Everyone kinda looks...fake, I guess, but not cartoony. Like plastic people, I guess. When it's Tony Stark in the Iron Man suit, though, it's just fine (though there was an image in issue #1 where he was flying against a cloud background, and the background just looked like a photograph, while Iron Man looked like a drawing. It really bugged me).

So yes, my geekiness knows no bounds, it's true. But I'm content with it.

~chuck

Song of the Moment: The Walkmen, "Four Provinces"

"We Wouldn't Have To Eat Kraft Dinners"

Another school year has started. I'm pretty content with my classes this year. I've got U.S. History and World History II (as usual), and I'm teaching Civics and Humanities again. I haven't taught Humanities since the 2006-2007 school year, and I haven't taught Civics since my first year (2005-2006, for those keeping score). I'm also doing a Geography independent study for three students. It's the same period as Civics, but it only lasts for a semester (then someone else will have to deal with the three darling children).

We've got a new Director, and it seems like she'll be a decent fit with the school. I dunno, it's hard to make a judgment call on it since she's only been there for two weeks (and only had students for one of those weeks). I guess we'll see if she's a good match the first time there's a crisis or major issue.

Well, speaking of a crisis, we still don't have a reading teacher. For a school full of kids who have reading issues, that's a problem. We'd found someone right before the school year started, but they had to give 30 days' notice to their previous employer before they could join us. That means we've got at least two weeks before we'd have her with us, assuming that she actually decided to come join the school (we haven't been able to get ahold of her since we technically hired her two weeks ago, so that's a problem). The Director's solution? Ask my wife, Michelle, to be the new reading teacher. Michelle doesn't know if that's something she's really ready for or even wants to do. She's going to try it for a week and see what happens. There are a lot of logistical problems associated with her taking that position, but we desperately need someone there. Michelle may be just what we need.

Our friend Lauren is visiting this evening. She brought with her a variety of sausages and wines and all sorts of other crazy crap. Together with the macaroni and cheese I bought earlier this afternoon, they combine to form an evening of entertainment and excitement! Honestly.

~chuck

Song of the Moment: The Gaslight Anthem, "The 59 Sound"

"Every Girl's Crazy 'Bout A Sharp-Dressed Man"

For someone like me who is of the, shall we say, larger persuasion, clothes shopping can be an exercise in frustration and humiliation. It's either difficult to find clothes in my size (if it's big enough for my torso, the arms are often too short on a shirt...as though I'm some rolly-polly with stub arms or somesuch) or difficult to find something worth wearing. The only thing I can figure out is that clothing designers must believe that, once people reach a certain weight, they lose the ability to discern between what looks good and what looks like crap. "Fashion" isn't something they've really considered for big guys.

This mostly applies to shirts, which are almost uniformly awful. The colors, the patterns...you'd think that all fat people are blind (or at least color blind). That's why I tend to wear t-shirts that're just a solid color (gray or black for preference). Dress shirts are almost as bad. Finding a dress shirt in my size isn't difficult, but finding a nice one in my size is. I searched last week for a new dress shirt for half an hour, and anything that looked halfway decent or interesting didn't come in my size.

Suffice to say, I'm not a big fan of shopping for clothes. That just makes it all the more frustrating that I'll have to go buy new clothes before the school year starts, as all of my work pants bit the dust at the end of the year (considering I'd been wearing them pretty much constantly for three years, I'd say they served their time).

~chuck

Song of the Moment: Don Henley, "Dirty Laundry"

"Our Songs Are Sing-Along Songs"

Only a little over a week to go in summer school. Lord knows I'm ready for the break now (and I have to spend my weekend writing progress notes. AND I have to attend a wedding. Mine is truly a charmed life).

Michelle and I have been sucked into a few new things over the past week:

(1) Twitter. It's like instant messaging with lots of people, which is groovy.

(2) Eureka, the quirky, whimsical show on the Sci-Fi Channel. Reminds me a lot of Gail Simone's Welcome to Tranquility comic, and anything reminiscent of Gail Simone's work is okay by me.

Tried getting into Burn Notice because of the Bruce Campbell involvement, but the couple of episodes I've seen of that did not impress. The main character (who isn't Bruce. How can he be in a TV show and NOT be the main character? It's a travesty) is too generic and cookie-cutter, the dialog has no real life to it (and most people's delivery in the show is nothing short of atrocious), and Bruce just isn't in the show enough. I think if the show were more focused on him, it'd be worth watching, but I'm just a big Bruce Campbell fan (there's always re-watching Jack of All Trades and The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr., which I for some reason don't own).

In other news, my parents keep sending me politically-conservative email forwards. I kinda want to call them up and scream, "I'm a liberal! I don't think taxes are bad! I don't think war is good! And you can take your hillbilly interpretation of the 2nd Amendment and blow it out your ass!" But I can't do that, because I am a polite and well-mannered son.

Oh, and the new Hold Steady album is pretty awesome. I've seen reviews comparing it to Bruce Springsteen's The Wild, The Innocent, and the E Street Shuffle (my least-favorite Bruce album, and the one that I never listen to except for "Rosalita"). I guess you could say it's like E Street Shuffle...if that album had kicked off with "Rosalita," and then played more songs like that for the rest of the album. So yeah, nothing like E Street Shuffle, really.

~chuck

Song of the Moment: The Hold Steady, "Constructive Summer"

"I Used To Be Disgusted"

I find myself becoming increasingly frustrated with some of my students in summer school. Their lack of effort or motivation, their willful disregard of rules and instructions, their tendency to just do...well, nothing. It's all getting to me. I'd say I need a break, but I know there's only two weeks left and that I can make it that long.

Still, it's difficult some days during summer school to remind myself why I enjoy teaching. I don't have that problem during the regular school year, but that's probably because I'm teaching history then and I feel more in my element.

Finally got my updated GMU transcript this morning and delivered it to the Powers That Be (PTB) at the other school so we can get my full teaching license. For those who don't know the story, one of my classes wasn't showing up on my transcript. I called about it, and they said they had to file something called retro-enrollment papers to get it added back, and that it was all on their end and I just had to sit back and wait a couple of weeks for it to appear on my unofficial transcript. Well, a month passed, and no word. I called back and discovered that, since the class was more than a year old, the Dean's Office had to send a memo to the Vice Provost's Office to get it approved, then it had to be sent back to the Dean's Office, who would then send it on to the Registrar, who would finally put the class on my transcript. That took another month. It should've taken a week, tops, even with the inherent lack of communication between departments that you find at universities. I mean, I'd've walked the damn paperwork back and forth across campus if it'd have got the stuff done faster.

But now it's taken care of, and I should have my official license from the PTB in a few weeks (give or take). Hurray!

~chuck

Song of the Moment: Elvis Costello, "(The Angels Wanna Wear My) Red Shoes"

Where'd I leave the torch and pitchfork?

Michelle pointed me towards this article about a recent diatribe by syndicated whackjob Micahel Savage. Calling autism a "fraud" just reveals how ignorant the man actually is.

And while we're at it, what's with the whole rant about gender essentialism? Seriously, teaching young men to actually give two tugs about how other people feel makes them weak? What? How is not treating everyone like they were subhuman a bad thing?

I swear to God, if he invokes the 1950s as some sort of nostalgic golden age, when men were men and women kept their mouths shut and cooked, I may have to commit a hate crime.

~chuck

Song of the Moment: Don Henley, "Dirty Laundry"

Too Quiet

Without Michelle around, it's too quiet. I'm starting to get kinda lonely, and it's only been a day.

It's gonna be a long week.

~chuck

Song of the Moment: My Morning Jacket, "I'm Amazed"

Squeeee!

Chrono Trigger? Chrono Trigger.

Looks like it's coming out in Japan in Winter 2008, so we can expect it sometime next year? God, I hope so. A port of the Trigger would be glorious.

I know SquareEnix is just trying to profit off our nostalgia by repackaging games that're over a decade old, but I think it says something about how high the quality of those games was that I still shell out the cash to buy them again.

~chuck

Song of the Moment: Chrono Trigger, "Brink of Time"

"All By Myself"

Michelle's out of town for the week up in New York City, visiting her family. I'm thus left here to my own devices. The house is rather dark and quiet, just me and the cats. I've only got one light, my computer, and the TV/DVD on.

Next week I head out to Oklahoma for a few days. I really need to play the guitar quite a bit before I head out, because otherwise my fingers are not going to make it when we do the big family singalong at my uncle's birthday party. Even if I play for an hour or two every night, though, I'm pretty sure this is gonna be rough on 'em.

Summer school continues well. Kinda wish I could just laze about all day, doing nothing, but that ain't gonna happen.

The cats are getting into the crazy period of the evening where they run circles around the living room and claw at things (the furniture, the walls, me). My only hope is that they'll calm down by the time I go to bed.

~chuck

Song of the Moment: Rancid, "Time Bomb"

"I'm On Fire"

I have some rather unpleasant heartburn this morning. It woke me up at 4:30 and never really let me get back to sleep. That sucks.

~chuck

Song of the Moment: Charlie Sexton, "Burn"

Nerdlinger

I woke up to find Michelle watching a Doctor Who marathon on TV.

So yeah, today is the day we prove our geekiness and just watch Doctor Who all day long, apparently. Summer vacation rocks.

~chuck

Song of the Moment: The Beatles, "I Feel Fine"

"Jesus Of Suburbia"

So I came one step closer to becoming suburban middle class scum yesterday: Michelle and I got a Costco membership.

I've resisted places like Costco for years. Hate them. Hate the idea of purchasing a palate of breakfast cereal because it was "on sale cheap." I feel kinda like I've sold out, even if the only reason we got it was so we could purchase stuff for the school.

Oh, and a case of Vitamin Water. I don't care for the stuff, but Michelle does, and 24 bottles for under $20 is a ridiculously good deal. Seriously.

Only a couple more days to go. The end is nigh, people, the end is nigh!

~chuck

Song of the Moment: My Morning Jacket, "I'm Amazed"