Tuesday, January 29, 2008

Another Name

A rose by any other name . . . is still the same flower; so is a narrative set in a different locale and time period still the same story or a fresh tale with its own special twists and turns?

Finally returned to my Netflix queue today as wind, rain, and other assorted obstacles prevented a return to the increasingly enjoyable workouts. (In lieu of physical exertion, I opted for a nice hot chili sauce to induce the daily perspiration release...)

The Secret of Roan Inish looks for all the world like Frances Burnett's The Secret Garden, set in Ireland on an island instead of the Yorkshire countryside. The mystical touch is a little more pronounced, which is actually pleasant in a video experience, though I suspect I would have been less appreciative, had I first encountered it in written form. The Princess Bride-style flashbacks are perhaps the most attractive aspect of the film, or perhaps I'm just a sucker for epimethean snapshots.

All in all, the film was a pleasant diversion on a rainy day, much as the book would have been, I suspect. Let's hear it for hard work and the triumph of the agrarian way of life over that of urban squalor and rapacity.

Friday, January 25, 2008

Exercise Attention

Should one concentrate on the task at hand when exercising, or is allowing one's mind to wander to videos and music more beneficial? While experts suggest that concentration is more beneficial and coaches universally agree, the casual athlete might think otherwise. After all, if one is not (or has not been) particularly serious about working out, then something is definitely needed to ease the transition into what can only be described as the monotonous repetition necessary, especially in weight training or with the use of equipment designed to enhance one's cardiovascular fitness.

True, a good coach or trainer will provide variety, and a truly dedicated athlete can generally find various aspects of the activities and personal development on which to concentrate. For the casual individual, however, for those working out for the ends, not the activity itself, distraction can actually prolong what is already initially a haphazard effort. In such a case, any effort has to be better than no effort.

This, clearly, is the premise on which so many accessories are sold. There are an ever-increasing number of flavors of iPods from which to choose, in addition to the proliferation of other mp3 players. There are the banks of television monitors mounted in health clubs. There is the ever present background music that alternately thumps and soothes its way into every crevice and cranny at the clubs. Then there are the garments, the towels, the gloves and belts, the carrying cases, even the water bottles just across from the beverage dispensing machines.

Yes, indeed, as with all things, there are plenty of ways to throw money at exercise without ever actually exerting oneself. Why concentrate?

Monday, January 21, 2008

A Moment of Triumph, and then...

So to the ongoing saga of the mailbox and pole...

You've heard the ethnic joke about the telephone company workers, haven't you?

Three teams of telephone company workers head out on the day's assignment: to erect new poles prior to the stringing of new lines in a subdivision under development. At the end of the day, each team reports back in with the number of poles completed. Bear in mind that the term for erecting such a pole is "burying the pole".

Team #1 returns and reports to the foreperson:

"How many poles did you guys bury?"

"An even dozen."

"Excellent."

Half an hour later Team #2 returns and reports in:

"How many poles did you guys bury?"

"15."

"Even better. Okay, see you guys tomorrow."

An hour later Team #3 finally drags in. The foreperson is pretty upset by now and starts right in yelling:

"What took you guys so long? Everyone else has been back for over an hour? You better have a great report. So how many poles did you guys get buried?"

The leader of Team #3 (fill in any ethnic or socioeconomic group you prefer) replies, "2."

The foreperson is about to blow a gasket. The cursing and swearing flow freely. Somewhere amidst the barrage of sound are the words, "You're fired."

At this the leader of Team #3 interrupts the tirade to defend himself and his team:

"But you should see how much the other guys left above ground!"


So: For myself, my pole only took four days and four hours to dig down 21", figure out how to attach everything, and pour my bag of Quikcrete without cementing myself in the process. Unlike my unfortunate friends described above, I left a little over 3' above ground, the requirement being 41" - 45" from the ground to the base of the box. Curiously, I think everyone else has been measuring from the top of the box, yet I have heard of no complaints. We'll see what tomorrow brings...

Meanwhile, I've lost a bit of water weight - dehydration, I'm thinking. The temper finally flared today, so I took myself off the to the gym to work it out, which seemed to help, at least until I returned... Ah well...

Too much information. :-0

Saturday, January 19, 2008

Plantings

January is a great time to till soil and plant seeds, or so I've thought for the better part of two decades. This year, however, is already starting off just a wee bit different...

When one goes to the trouble of acquiring a newspaper tube, one generally expects it to be used for the delivery of one's newspaper. That seems reasonable, doesn't it? If, however, one neglects or forgets to gift one's carrier with a seasonal remembrance, does that then mean that one's paper is more likely to land on the driveway than in the tube? Evidently.

Successive days of calling to comment, (not complain, exactly...) resulted not in the paper finding its way into the tube, but the entire mailbox apparatus ending up on the ground. I make no accusations here; merely note the proximity of events: paper on driveway, call to management, pole on ground. Granted, there has been much rain of late, and the pole seems to have rusted through at ground level, not something easily achieved with galvanized piping.

Be that as it may, the end result has been that the past two days have been spent scouring the island for materials to replicate a 1950s-style setup. Yesterday I enthusiastically dug out my trusty pick axe and began to uproot the remnants of the old pole, only to find, (as I should have expected, had I had any experience in the matter,) a lovely concrete base. Ah, another excuse to head for the store instead of continuing the project at hand...

A haircut, gas station stop, soil and amendments purchase, and tasty forbidden lunch stop later, all supplies were assembled, though the setting sun suggested that the actual burying of the pole and erection of the new mailbox must await yet another sunrise.

So Dad's sleeping in this morning...

And the paper was in the middle of the driveway again...

And the old pole remains on the ground while the new pole rides around in the car...

Yes, planting season is here, but I think the wrong one is rooted...

Tuesday, January 15, 2008

Five Things

Five Things

I was tagged by Shannon (last year, Dec. 9, to be exact, but I only just saw it,) and now I have to do this:

If you have been tagged, please follow these rules:

1. Link to your tagger and post these rules on your blog.
2. Share 5 facts about yourself on your blog, some random, some weird.
3. Tag 5 people at the end of your post by leaving their names as well as links to their blogs.
4. Let them know they are tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

Four rules for 5 facts: I should be able to handle this... does that count as one yet?

1. I've been neglecting my blogs and all forms of writing, for that matter, since I returned to Hawaii to check on Dad, which is odd, since

2. Being in Hawaii, especially living under the parental roof, generally leads to an almost overwhelming desire to vent verbally, preferably in writing.

3. I used to get a natural high from eating at Andrew's (before it went out of business).

4. I often think of Shane when I'm working in my yard.

5. I miss playing basketball almost as much as I miss my Kidz.

Now, do I actually know 5 people who blog? Let me see...

There are Trent at http://iamthepurpleone.livejournal.com/
Melissa at http://melzme.livejournal.com/
Michael over on MySpace
Deb at http://eatingforthree.blogspot.com/
and last but by no means least
Jazz at http://searchforgnomes.blogspot.com/

Y'all are tagged, for what it's worth.

Friday, January 04, 2008

Big Night

Continuing on with the food flicks fetish I've been trying to satisfy, I come to the one I generally watch last: Stanley Tucci's Big Night. It's not one that I've rushed to rewatch in the past, perhaps because I have tended to phase out near the end. That has been a mistake.

Since the making of this film, Tony Shalhoub has gone on to create the unforgettable Mr. Monk, the defective detective, and that character peeks out from behind the apron of Shalhoub's Primo (first son) in this earlier work. He plays the older brother, as obsessed with the perfection of the dishes he prepares nightly as his younger brother (played by Stanley Tucci) is obsessed with attaining the American Dream. the result is an insightful study of culture clashes and values clarification against the backdrop of a marvelously prepared Italian feast.

Balancing these tightly wound brothers are three of Hollywood's more interesting female performers: Minnie Driver, Allison Janney, and the ever luminous Isabella Rossallini. Each brings her own depth to the film, enriching it as surely as the pinch of spice we occasionally see Shalhoub toss into a dish.

Equally interestingly subtle is the understated performance of an almost silent Marc Anthony, whose nonverbals do his talking for him. Meanwhile Liev Schrieber and Ian Holm chew scenery with as much gusto as they do the timpano that highlights the Big Meal.

For some reason, whenever I see Ian Holm these days, I flash on his role in The Fifth Element, but there is nothing quiet about this character. I do like the way the game Shalhoub sets his guests to playing provides all the explication necessary for the game Holm has been playing on the chef brothers.

I am glad I watched this one again.

On the State of Education

Browsing yesterday's editorial page this morning, I noticed a series of entries from high school students contemplating just what they believe to be essential to the adequate preparation of themselves and their peers for future success. I found myself nodding in sage agreement with the initial entries, clearly properly trained, delightfully thoughtful and insightful youth promising good things for the next generation in charge. Then I came across an entry that sounded much more like an echo of contemporary political brainwashing, which made me realize that all that sagacity that had preceded it had to be reflections of older voices as well.

What particularly disturbed me, however, was the emphasis on "hands-on learning" over standards-based learning," at least as it was discussed in the editorial. The writer was particularly enthusiastic about exclusive project-oriented, outcome-based learning. Now what, you may well ask, could I possibly find objectionable in that? Is not the purpose of public education, after all, the preparation of functional adult workers?

Here's the thing: there has always been hands-on learning, whether it was called vocational training, apprenticeship, internship, or shop and home ec. There will always be a place in society for hands-on learning because there will always be a need for those who can and do eagerly seek employment with their hands. We don't actually need formal, government-funded schools for that sort of training. There will always be a place in society for those who wish to pursue entrepreneurship, who seek satisfaction and fulfillment in commerce.

Traditionally, school was not meant for everyone, not offered to everyone. Truth to tell, not everyone appreciates the unique opportunities available in a school setting, nor should they have to experience them. The kinds of work and opportunities best served by school training tend to deal with intangibles, at least in part. Those who seek to serve in government, in law, in medicine - in short, in the professions - are well-served by the rigors of classroom education. The give-and-take of open discussion based on extensive readings, and the thoughtful writing that follows such activities, helps to broaden horizons and open future leaders to new avenues of thought that are also connected to deep wells of tradition. At least, that's the potential and the theory. Going off half-cocked in a public venue for hands-on experience without having first considered what has gone before is not a useful learning activity for such students.

Those who wish to build better bridges, design better transportation, manipulate finances, or otherwise work with tangible constructions are happier in the doing and benefit from extensive hands-on experience early in their educational careers. One would hope that enforced contemplation might help to mold such workers' sense of shared community values, but anything enforced is a crap shoot at best.

And what of our artists, musicians, athletes, and other performers? How do we best serve them as they seek to hone their respective crafts?

Yet we throw all our students into one barrel and then wonder why one system does not answer for all. What idiot composed the initial query that set the question as a dichotomy anyway?

Thursday, January 03, 2008

Back to Flix

First up this year is Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events.

This is a film that I have been avoiding, as well as a series I have been avoiding reading, though I cannot really say why. In any event, watching it as a Netflix rental seemed a harmless enough way to find out what all the fuss has been about. In fact, I found myself very quickly engaged and settled in for a very enjoyable couple of hours. (I love flipping through the outtakes and extra stuff.)

While it's pretty hard not to know that Jim Carrey is a part of this project, I was pleasantly surprised as talent after talent kept popping up on-screen, very much as they do in the Harry Potter series. Timothy Spalding, Meryl Streep, Cedric the Entertainer, and an unbilled Dustin Hoffman all startled and delighted with their appearances. These are classy professionals who rarely misstep, and their work here is well-edited.

Emily Browning and Liam Aiken, who play the older Baudelaire children are well-edited as well, but it is the Hoffman twins playing young Sunny who steals the best bubbled quips. Like the book series, this film is creative, playful, surprisingly delightful, and has just the right mix of naivete and cynicism to please.

As is indicated on the dvd extras, Jim Carrey's genius is funneled rather than controlled, which is perhaps the best way to capture and utilize the strengths that he brings to the table as a comedic performer.
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What I really enjoyed is the whimsy that is carried over into the design of the dvd itself. Clearly someone has done a good job of conveying the delightful wordplay for which the written series is famous. It will be interesting to see how the rest of the series is handled, if at all.

Wednesday, January 02, 2008

Kicking Off the New Year w/Adrenalin

Greetings, and welcome to 2008!

California is starting off this Leap Year with a bang, taking the Environmental Protection Agency to court. I'd love to hear as many sides to this argument as possible because, on the surface of things, it certainly seems as though the EPA is way off base. They have ruled that California cannot enact more stringent environmental requirements of automakers than the federal government currently allows. Clearly, that sounds lame. I just have to know what the rest of the story could possibly be, especially since California legislatures oversee the EPA, if I understand this article correctly.

You know what really worries me? California is merely aiming to roll back emission levels to 1990, which were already pretty horrendous. It seems to me that California is aiming low. If the federal government is aiming even lower, one really needs to be concerned for the next generation coming up after us. Shades of John Varley's Millenium!

You remember: that's the short story that was turned into a novel that was turned into a B-movie starring Kris Kristoferson and Cheryl Ladd -- the one where people from the future come back into the present in order to change history to preserve their own timeline. The human race has mutated to the point where they have to wear special tanks of polluted air because they can no longer handle the relatively clean air of the twentieth century. Anyway, sure seems like that mutation won't be long coming for those who survive the increasing number of asthmatics appearing in contemporary society. Now that's sad.

And the federal government is willing to protect the interests of a few fat cats today at the expense of those who must live the consequences tomorrow. I gotta hear the rest of the story...