| Trish's profileThe Contents of Trish's ...PhotosBlogLists |  Tools  Help |
|
November 17 "The Box" is Trashed I wasn't the only person who thought The Box was a bad movie. Check out the review that Yahoo!7Movies gave. If the site doesn't work anymore, I've saved a PDF copy of the review. I knew the movie was bad, but now I know that a lot of people feel the same way! The Tomatometer doesn't look too good either...  October 30 The Box Tonight I went to the cinema and saw The Box, starring Cameron Diaz, James Marsden, and Frank Langella.The movie is set in 1976, and is directed by Richard Kelly, who also directed Donnie Darko. The movie is based on a short story called 'Button, Button' by Richard Matheson.  A man leaves a package on the doorstep of the house of Arthur and Norma Lewis, an average middle-American couple. Inside the package is an ornate device with a red button on it. Accompanying this is a card declaring that Mr Steward will arrive at 5pm. Neither Arthur nor Norma know anyone by the name of Mr Steward. At 5pm Mr Steward arrives and offers Norma a deal. Press the button, and one million dollars in cash will be given. However, there's a catch. If the button is pressed, someone, somewhere, will die. Norma does not know who that person is. Arthur arrives home later, and the decision-making process begins. What ensues is a very poor emulation of a good old-fashioned thriller movie. The script is extremely loose, with parts of the movie seeming more like a 'fill' than an actual part of the storyline. There are a number of loose ends that are not tied up. The acting is a little wooden, and the music often detracts from the film, rather than enhancing it. At some points in the film I laughed, when clearly the action occurring in the scene should not have elicited such a response. Early in the movie I needed to go to the restroom, and instead of just keeping my needs at bay, I walked out of the cinema for approximately five minutes. When I got back, I hadn't missed anything important. This is a clear sign that Richard Kelly should've shortened the film and made the characters a little deeper than the shallow representations that ended up on screen. The storyline left me quite frustrated. I actually felt like I had wasted two hours of my life for a movie that I could definitely have missed, and would've been none-the-wiser. Indeed, the short story seems more appealing to me. However, fans of Kelly will see this movie. They will adore the cliched motifs. They will value the methods of suspense used to heighten the movie. They will marvel at the underlying themes of morality, guilt, justice, and life on other planets. This is the first film that I have seen under the helm of Richard Kelly. Perhaps it will be the last, if his latest offering is anything to go by. If you want to escape, and don't mind being frustrated at the outcome of the movie, then invest your hard-earned cash. At least I know that I didn't waste money on the tickets, as they were free. I'm not sure that I will want to give away my 2-for-1 coupon that came with the free tickets. That's almost as tough a decision as pressing a button on a box. October 28 Capitalism: A Love Story I've just come home from seeing a preview screening of Michael Moore's new film Capitalism: A Love Story. .jpg) This is the first film I've seen by Michael Moore. I had an inkling of what to expect, but I certainly did not expect the brusqueness of which Michael Moore points the finger at the U.S. Government for causing the financial demise of hundreds of thousands of Americans, and set in motion a global economic downturn. Capitalism is classed as an economic and social system whereby profits made from products are given to the private owners of a company. Labourers in the company are paid a wage, but do not share in the profits. Investors, usually by way of the sharemarket, benefit from a share of the profits also. Michael Moore's take on capitalism in America is somewhat more brutal than the above definition. In fact, the depth with which Moore illustrates the evils of capitalism, is nigh on the verge of causing a ripple effect. Perhaps this is what he had intended with this film. Moore uses archived footage, comedic voice-overs, interviews with victims, priests, members of the U.S. government, news footage, and other pieces to create a collage that combine to form a particular view on capitalism. That view is not a good one. Indeed, after seeing the film, I am more convinced of how the rich are getting richer, and the poor are getting poorer. I guessed that the film was going to touch on the global economy, as this is the 'hot topic' of the media. What I hadn't realised was the benefits that some companies received even after making extremely bad decisions, which led to their company collapsing, stock values plummeting, and the stock market reaching an almost all-time low. What adds fuel to the fire here is the 'reward' that companies have gained for essentially being the catalyst for our current global economic situation. There are also glimpses of the pure evil of capitalism, where companies are benefitting from the deaths of it's employees. Jobs which should be paid a higher rate are not. Banks are foreclosing on loans which people cannot pay (often refinanced homes that were previously possessed in full by the owner/s), and so homes are being evicted, to embarrassing and shameful outcomes for those living there. The bottom line, for Moore, is that capitalism sucks. There is nothing good about capitalism. Money is god, and at the moment, there doesn't seem like much can be done about it. However, this is where Moore pulls his punches. He issues a challenge to viewers to stand up against capitalism. While this is indeed a movie made by an American, for Americans, we in Australia can take the message to heart. While our country has tighter regulations on banks and companies, there are still plenty of 'little guys' out there who are being shunted by big companies, so that those big companies can corner the market and thus have a greater hold on the profits that can be gained. We have people rushing out to get home loans that they usually cannot afford, because the new home-owners grant has been raised. Once they fall into the trap of getting a loan that they can't afford to pay back, their house is sold from under them, often to profit, due to the continuing price rise in houses despite the economic downturn, and the home owners are in a much worse position from which they started. One thing that Michael Moore fails to touch on in his film is the value and benefit of education. What needs to happen in order for capitalism to not take such a hold on people here in Australia, as it has in America, is for people to be educated on handling finances. In particular, the dangers of credit need to be revised. It is one thing to stand up against capitalism, it is another to shake the hold that it has on the common person. On a whole, this film has its merits. There are some biases in data representation, and a clear slant on the point of view of the victim, but the film still has validity. I would recommend this film to anyone who uses money. Ironically, after seeing the movie, a parking fee of $41 had to be paid, as the car was parked before 6pm. Capitalism wins the day. Dinner - $13. Movie - free. Parking - $41. The irony - priceless. October 10 10,000This blog has now received over 10,000 HITS!!!! Thanks for your continuing support. I'll try to keep things interesting. September 23 Never Mind the Dust I was just having a bit of a bludge watching an episode of The United States of Tara, when the light changed. I also noticed a very dry and dusty smell. Sure enough, I look towards the window, and find that there is an orange glow outside. I open the curtain, and there's a dust storm! I dare say that this is the very same dust storm that hit Sydney this morning. I was dubious about the pictures of everything being bathed in red, but after what I've just seen, the pictures are extremely believable. I decided that I wasn't going to just sit inside and wonder about everything. I put a bandanna over my mouth and nose (cowboy style), put a cap on, grabbed the camera, and went for a quick walk. It's quite amazing. Visibility is only a few hundred metres. Cars are driving slower and using their headlights. You can't really see the sun. I actually had difficulty locating it, until I stood in the backyard. .jpg) The orange glow outside reminds me of being on Mars. It is quite surreal. The wind is picking up and blowing around quite strongly. I walked up the road to see what the visibility was like looking out towards the bay, and it's like somebody has just dragged a blanket across the horizon. (check the picture below) .jpg) I'm wondering if I made a mistake going outside, as all I can taste in my mouth is dust. My throat is slightly sore, and my heart rate is up a little. All I can smell is dust. I've practically locked myself inside, to wait it out. I just hope that this doesn't last too long, otherwise there will be repercussions with traffic, the airport, and businesses. I can't imagine how much havoc this is causing for places that serve food! In a way, it's like there's been a filter put over everything. The colours have been muted. Everything looks quite dull. The poor sun hasn't got a chance of coming through (see next picture). .jpg) I'm imagining the difficulties that people with respiratory problems may be having right now. There are quite a few elderly people in the area where I live. The last time I can remember being in a dust storm was the 8th of February, 1983, when I was growing up in Melbourne. I vaguely remember my Mum telling everyone to get inside the house and shut the windows. I was only seven years old at the time. At the moment, I've drunk so much water to try and get this taste out of my mouth. This whole event just seems like something out of a science fiction movie. Maybe somebody will make a movie out of it one day. They should call it Dust. August 10 CoralineI've just seen the movie Coraline, based on the book by Neil Gaiman. I was only interested in seeing it for two things: animation and Jennifer Saunders.  I didn't go and see the 3D version, thanks to having eyes that do funny things when I'm looking at 3D images, but I was still quite impressed with the movie. Such fantastical imagery and great weaving of a story that, while meant for children, captures the minds of adults as well. The colours, animation, voices, and music all merge together to create such a great movie, that I'm just going to have to see it again. Coraline is a story of a girl who moves to 'The Pink Palace Apartments' with her parents. She is a world away from her friends, and only wants her parents to be involved in her life a little more. On the first night of sleeping in her new home, Coraline discovers that a door in the family room, that is normally a gateway to a brick wall, becomes a tunnel to another world. Without giving away any spoilers, this world mirrors Coraline's, but in a way that she does not expect. Coraline gets so caught up, that the enchantment becomes dangerous, and Coraline needs to find a way to bring things back to normal. The very end of the movie credits gives a little gem for those who love the internet. I'm not telling you what it is, as you will need to see the movie yourself. I must say, though, that the website is a nice addition to the movie, adding a veritable virtual playground for the young, and young at heart. I love movie websites that are interactive. I've already blogged about the Transformers one, and have played around with the Terminator Salvation website. The Coraline website also has an ability for cyber fiends to upload their photos and play around with button eyes. I've added a couple of photos for you to look at. The original is on the left, and then you can choose different frames and buttons for your eyes.    As well as playing around with photos, you can even visit the circus and a group of clever mice will spell your name!  Anyway, if you're interested in the movie, then you must go and see it. Coraline is fantastic! June 20 Murphy SucksI'm sick of Murphy! Murphy needs to get out of my life! Why? Here's why:
I hit a brick wall Monday night after getting the news about Robert. That was the straw that broke the camel's back. I've been utterly exhausted from moving house and stressing about marking and reporting. As a result, I have taken four days off work. Not fun days, either, as I spent most of those four days getting six lots of marking done, then all of my reporting completed. I ended up getting it all finished a day late. I've had a migraine all day today, and it's supposed to be Saturday! Ugh! Still, one week to go... The only upside to all of this is that the next half of the year is going to be much, much, better. Let's hope Murphy stays away for a while. April 06 FinnI was going to blog some more about Supanova Day 2 yesterday, but while I was starting to put the article together, Finn jumped up on my lap. I decided that I was going to spend a little time with him, as Ben and I were at the decision that it was time to say goodbye to Finn.
Finn was extremely sick early last month, and after much testing, it was found that he had kidney disease and was operating on 10% of kidney function. I cried at the news, as I knew that there was nothing that the vet could do to help Finn. It was just a matter of making his life bearable. The clincher was that the vet told me that the moment that Finn stops eating, that I need to start thinking about euthanasia.
That moment came yesterday. When I got home from my second day of Supanova, Ben said that Finn had not eaten all day. I tried to get Finn to eat, as I had been feeding him by hand for over a week, but he wouldn't eat.
This morning we tried again, but Finn just licked at the juices of the food, and then walked away. Ben and I made the decision this morning to say goodbye to Finn, and to have him humanely euthanased.
We said goodbye to Finn at approximately 4pm today.
At the moment I've stopped crying. I know that I'll probably have a few more bouts of tears before the night is over, and I will need to take tomorrow off, as I don't think that I could handle being in front of a class with the way that I feel.
Ben and I will really miss Finn. He was the most lovable cat that we could ever want.
Our last farewells to Finn before taking him to the vet this afternoon. April 04 Supanova Day 1 - Hayden PanettiereI got to Supanova at around 9am, today. I was flustered from all sorts of things going wrong, so I was expecting to be a little out of sorts. As soon as I left my car in the carpark, I was great! After all, it was Supanova time!
I was dismayed to find the line to get in was already enormous, even though there was another hour to wait. Luckily, the line for those people wearing wrist bands (like me), was a lot shorter. The doors opened a little late, but by the time I got inside the place, it was 10:15am.
The first thing I did was line up and pay for a couple of autographs and a photo with Hayden Panettiere, the actress who plays the cheerleader from the TV show Heroes. I then lined up to wait for when she came out and did the signing.
The wait was a lot longer than expected, but worth it. There were some ground rules that had to be followed when dealing with Hayden P:
I had a feeling that Hayden was going to be untouchable, so just took it with a grain of salt, and being very thankful that I was not famous. So, I got two trading cards autographed and a portrait photo taken with Hayden. The card that I'm keeping is the one that contains a piece of Hayden's costume from the first season of Heroes. After she signed it, she remarked at how her costume in the first show was fire retardant, and that she remembers how the costume felt. She touched the material and said that it definitely felt like her costume from the first season. I laughed and told her that I was glad that it was authentic! I did have a bit of a heart attack before I got the autographs and photo, as I had lost my ticket. I had a second heart attack when I found that the person who served me the ticket misunderstood and thought that I was going to take a photo of Hayden while she autographed my stuff. So, after the autographs, I got shuffled back to pay another $10 and then was shuffled promptly to the front of the line for getting a photo taken. (This was after the VIP people got their photos taken.) I didn't touch Hayden. However, I did feel sorry for her. The poor girl had done this already in Melbourne, and now was dealing with horrible humidity and smelly fans in a place that did not have air conditioning. She looked a little tired, but at least Hayden was extremely gracious. Even though I was a little put out by the rules, I understood why they were there. The camera rules didn't really stop me though, as I handed my camera to a nice lady further down the queue, and got her to take photos while Hayden autographed my cards. Hayden about to sign my trading cards
Costume card chuckle Heart attack 2 facial response It was nice of Hayden to ask me if everything was sorted out when I was ready to take a photo with her. You can see from the third photo above that she was genuine about this question, as she looked interested in what was happening. A few things that I learnt about Hayden P today:
Later on I snuck a few photos of Hayden, and got told off for it. So I guess what I've got is pretty good! The rest of the day I wandered around looking at stalls and talking to the people. I got a bit worn out from having to dodge so many people, so I decided to have an early day and left at 2:30pm. I'll be going again tomorrow, and will be staying until closing time, to see if I can get any last-minute bargains. I've saved a fair bit of cash for the weekend, so I might as well enjoy myself! It's On Again...Yes, it's on again! Supanova!
I went there last night, for the Friday night preview screenings and welcome. The best part was having Richard Hatch on the microphone, talking about Battlestar Galactica. The rest of the night was ho-hum, but that's because I'm not a huge anime fan. I did want to see The Watchmen preview screening, but they were going to show it on a very small screen, so I didn't bother.
Richard Hatch, writer of Battlestar Galactica novels, original star, and current star. (Stock photo) The highlight of the night was by far the bravest. I saw Richard Hatch about to get into a car to be driven away, so I quickly went over to him and said, "Richard, just a moment." I then put out my hand, and he shook it. I told him that I was really impressed with Battlestar Galactica, and that I was glad that he kept up with the show. I also told him that I hoped there would be more to come.
Richard was quite gracious, and didn't let go of my hand until I stopped talking. He is certainly a very humble man. I'm sure that he was quite chuffed that there was a sensible, non-squealing, fan out there. It certainly made my night!
Now I'm off to get ready for today. I'm very, very, very excited. But, you'll have to wait and see why... March 23 You're A Twit If You TwitterI'm not sure if you're noticing this yet, but there are advertisements coming through from websites asking that you join Twitter so that you then receive discounts on products.
I've kept this e:mail, as I was intrigued as to what Twitter is, and how it works.
Going to the initial website didn't help. The only information I could gain was that the site offers small messages that are updates of your social life to be sent to people in your circle of friends. Upon reading this, I thought to myself, "Oh, here we go again... Don't we already have My Space and Facebook? Now we have another way to keep in contact socially?" I was automatically switched off by this fact, as I am beginning to think that My Space and Facebook are too much like avenues of gossip. (And yes, I do have a My Space, but if you check out the blog entry, there's only one, linking back to this blog.)
Not wanting to be the ultimate pessimist, I decided to do a little research. I of course, went straight to Wikipedia. I know that Wikipedia is not the bee's knees of information, and that users can edit and change entries at any time. I had this thought rolling through my head at the time that I read that Twitter collects 'personally identifiable information' about it's users and shares it with third parties. The company has the right to sell this 'asset' of data if the company changes hands.
Here's where the alarm bells started ringing. Remember tele-marketers? I know they're still around, but having the ability to go on a list that stops tele-marketers from calling you has meant that we are getting less calls in general. Remember how annoying it was to have someone ask you a bunch of questions based on them knowing your name, address, phone number, etc? Want to keep being annoyed? Then join the Twitter website.
I visited the website, and looked at their privacy policy, just to be sure. After all, what information is the most accurate? You guessed it, by getting it straight from the horse's mouth. Here's the excerpt from Twitter's Privacy Policy:
That highlighted part basically tells you that when you join up to the site, you are giving Twitter permission to store your information in the United States of America, and that this information could be disclosed.
I wanted to know a little more about this, so I read further:
Okay, so now what? When you join Twitter, they're going to share your information with third party companies, and they're going to contact you with possible offers, etc. Those third parties should be maintaining the privacy and security of your personal information. Yeah... right! It only takes one person to steal that information and sell it to the highest bidder, and wham!, you're up to your elbows in messages from people you don't want to hear from, and you didn't give permission to contact you in the first place.
Now that I know these clauses, I'm extremely wary of even signing up to Twitter. I already get spam in my e:mail, even if it is only five messages a day. Do I really want to be further bothered by another internet website that's really out to make money, rather than help me stay in touch with friends?
As for staying in touch with friends, I think the most personalised way is either calling them and speaking to them, meeting up with them in person, or sending them a personally addressed e:mail. That's probably why I haven't heard from some friends... They keep sending me e:mails to be on their list of friends for Facebook, but I think it's rather impersonal. Besides, if a person wants to keep in touch with you, shouldn't they be contacting you? Why should you be the one to have to go their Facebook page and read up on everything? I just think that's plain rude. You want to keep in touch with me? Then make an effort! Pick up the phone or send me a personally addressed e:mail!
So, after all of that, I've decided that I'm not going to join Twitter.
As for you, dear public, it's up to you whether you want to join or not. If you want my opinion though, I think you're a twit if you do. March 15 Beantastic Gets An Award!I've been far, far too busy to keep up with my blog, as I've been making themes almost every week for ndsthemes.com.
Over the last few weeks I've been working on a theme based around Heinz Baked Beans. The idea that I used for the button rollover was to put three forks and have the 'games', 'media' and 'setup' words appear on the end of the fork, as though the fork is coming out of the baked beans. This was the hardest part of the theme, as it took a few weeks just to work on the buttons!
I uploaded the theme yesterday, and had a comment on making the forks look three dimensional, rather than flat. So, I went to work on it again, and found a tutorial to learn from, thanks to another user on ndsthemes. I spent nearly an hour and a half fixing the forks.
The end result? An unusual, but nice theme.
To top it all off, I got a theme award! I got the 'Admin's Choice' theme award. Along with the theme award is 100 points towards my account, and a little badge underneath my theme (see picture below). Very nice.
 Screen-capture taken today, with a demo of how the rollover function works.
And an update... I didn't win the February theme contest. Far too many excellent themes apart from mine. I have entered for the March contest, but I'm not holding my breath. February 21 Vote For My ThemeContinuing on with the same subject as my previous blog entry, I have entered a theme into this month's competition for nds themes. If you are able to, could you sign up and vote for my theme?
Icons, cheat buttons, etc can only be viewed either in a DS linker cartridge, or at nds themes. What you see below are just the top and bottom images, where the bottom half of the screen does not have any icons on it. (Trust me, it looks even better with the icons!)
If I win the competition, I don't win anything major, just 100 points and a nice little award icon next to the theme. It's all about kudos, really! (They mean a lot to a geek.) Also, I've uploaded a Guitar Hero skin to go with the Custom Slash Guitar Grip that I made last year. I'm actually quite proud of it! It took me over six hours in total to complete the theme.
Please note: You do have to be a member of ndsthemes to rate any of my themes, as well as voting for a competition entry. February 14 All Things Game and GeekifulSince I have embraced my inner geek, I have been much more comfortable with myself. I love that I can talk about gaming and computers without worrying about getting weird looks anymore, even if I still get those looks!
I've been involved in a few things to do with my geekiness, so I thought I would share them with you:
Xbox LiveI've been on Xbox Live for a few months, and have managed to create a gamertag, and all the peripherals that come with it.
I love playing games on the Xbox 360. You can see from my gamertag pic what I've been playing, and how I'm going.
GameplayerI've been with Gameplayer since the 7th of July 2008. It's a site that links in with a few magazines, but is also a great place to look at forums that involve gaming, whether it's to do with console gaming, handheld console gaming, or even the PC. My username is crazytwish, so have a look at the forums section of the site and see what I've been contributing to.
Gameplayer is one of the reasons that I haven't been blogging as much as I used to!
NDS ThemesI own a Nintendo DS. I've been playing it for a few years, and just love how I can be anywhere and play games. No TV required!
A part of what I now call 'my little kit' is a Cyclo DS cartridge. This cartridge allows me to play music, read text files, and play homebrew games on it. Homebrew games are games that people make up for the DS, but aren't commercially available. They're free.
Anyway, the Cyclo DS has a menu screen. The default screen is pretty boring, so I wanted to find out if I could get better ones. Hence, NDS Themes.
This is a website for those who have cartridges for their DS, and want snazzy new menus. It's not just for the Cyclo DS, there are other cartridges covered as well.
As I hadn't been able to find menus that I liked, I've ended up making my own. I've uploaded these to the website, and other people are downloading them! This gives me a little gooey feeling inside everytime I check to see how my themes are going. If you want to check out my themes, then click here.
This is another little project that I keep up with online. It's for fun, not for profit. I'll be making more themes as I go along, and hopefully become the 'master' that is in my username!
Even if you don't have a DS, you can still download the pictures and see what work I have done. The website's preview pictures are not at 100% quality, so if you want a better look, download them!
Oh, and please vote for my themes as well. It's nice that people are looking at my themes and downloading them, but it would be even better if I could get their opinions!
So there you are! A few other little things that I've been up to besides keeping up with my blog. February 11 Shake, Baby, ShakeI've just arrived home from walking out of a movie. Yes, that's right, walking out of a movie.
The movie in question was a free preview screening of Rachel Getting Married. It wasn't the weak plot that made me leave, nor the very sluggish start. It was the camera work.
What it is that has possessed the director, Jonathan Demme, to use a very shaky camera technique, has me mystified. For those of you who don't know, Jonathan Demme is the Oscar-winning director of The Silence of the Lambs. I love The Silence of the Lambs. Despite it being given the genre of horror, it is still one of my favourites to watch.
However, I digress. Coming home quite early from what would've been a cheap night out, brings me to this question: why use handycam-type methods in a big-budget movie? What is it that gets directors using this more often than they really should?
The Bourne Supremacy is another example of this. The first movie, The Bourne Identity, was fantastic. I loved it. The action was incredible. However, in Supremacy, the action may have been fantastic, but you couldn't actually see it. There was too much of the handycam method for the viewer to actually focus on what was happening. Even in fist fights there was too much camera shake.
Which brings me back to Rachel Getting Married. This movie is about a dysfunctional family and their little secrets that come flying out of the closet on the cusp of a member of the family getting married. You know, the usual mushy slush that Americans love to dish out on our limited cinematic plates. Which is why it was no disappointment to leave the movie early. I would've hung on until the end, if it were not for the fact that my head was very sore, and I just could not keep my eyes on the screen for very long.
You see, I suffer from astigmatism. This is where the cornea in the eye is distorted, making all things that the person sees as not quite the way it should be. For an example, my left eye sees circles as an oval shape. Since I've had prescription glasses for this condition, everything is fine. The only problem is that I cannot view anything with a camera shake for very long before getting a headache.
So, why do directors use handycam-like methods, or add things such as a camera shake? The answer is simply 'reality'. You see, the more there is a shake in a movie, the more that the viewer feels like they're a part of the action. The camera shake method can be used effectively for short scenes that involve things such as earthquakes, tidal waves, or even spacecraft speeding off-camera. Note that I've said 'short scenes'. I'm okay with short scenes of camera shake. It is when directors go overboard in their zeal for realism that my head truly suffers, as it does at the moment.
The interesting thing is, we know that what we are seeing is a movie. We know that it is not real. Why take things to an extreme to try and make a storyline appear realistic? Fair enough, a movie can represent real life, but most of the time we want to see a movie to escape our own lives, or to just enjoy a good story.
Handycam methods and camera shake are tacky attempts at realism. The best form of realism that can be found in a movie is in a great script, excellent acting, and very little special effects. Movies with a handycam feel just make things seem cheap and tacky. Demme should know better than to resort to such petty tactics. Perhaps he was trying to make up for a weak script, or for wooden acting. Who knows?
One thing I can say is this: if directors are going to insist on using camera-shake or handycam methods in their movies for an extended period of time, or for the whole movie, then there should be a health warning. After all, do we want similar effects to the ill-famed Blair Witch Project? Do we want people throwing up because their eyes simply cannot focus on such a jilted image? I don't, and my feet did the talking on that topic this evening. November 22 Hope Afloat (Poem)HOPE AFLOAT
In a sea of despondency, Aboard a tiny boat. Against a current of negativity, My hope keeps me afloat.
The stinging of the sea water Splashing against my face. The winds of great betrayal, Jostle me from place to place.
As I row against the current, My heart is filled with song. The promise of vindication, To replace what was wrong.
While dark clouds of anger, Serve to blind my way, I know the sun shines behind – The beginning of a day.
For the hope that keeps me floating, And the light that is ever near, I can carry on in the journey, Knowing justice will be held dear.
As I row upon the crashing waves, Strength combined with an oar, I know that one day I will reach The ever elusive shore.
No foreseeable course is set, Though the path is ever clear. Not to I, the weary traveler, But to my guide who is always near.
Upon the sand I shall stand, Marvelling from whence I have come. The distant waves a threat no more, As justice will surely be done!
Patricia R. Robson Friday, 21st November, 2008.
September 13 Not as Common SenseI've been a teacher for just over a year and a half now, and I'm finding a very alarming number of students who do not have common sense. This isn't limited to any particular year level, it's right across the board.
Dictionary.com states that common sense is "sound practical judgment that is independent of specialized knowledge, training, or the like; normal native intelligence." I tend to think that common sense is about having the ability to put two ideas together, that are normally independent of each other according to the individual.
What I've discovered is that teenagers today do not have this 'sound practical judgement'. They don't have the ability to stop and think about something, or even to try and find an answer to a practical dilemma by accessing their own knowledge. Whatever it is they are trying to do, teenagers are now locked into using a crutch of some form in order to find their answer. They'll ask someone else before thinking, or they might access the internet or media. Whatever it is that a teenager does to try and find a solution to a practical issue, they are not trying to access their own knowledge. Common sense is not as common as it used to be.
For example, I am constantly being asked to lend pens, pencils, rulers, and calculators in class. I have a policy where I do not lend items to students if they are things that have been lent before and never returned. So, when a student says, "Miss, can I borrow a pen?", they should automatically know that my answer is going to be "No"! Common sense doesn't even register!
Then it gets worse... When I say "No", the student then asks, "Where am I going to get a pen then?" I usually respond by saying, "Ask someone else if you can borrow a pen off them." Simple, isn't it? You'd think this would be the first thing that the student does, rather than asking me, when they already know that I wont lend them anything!
Then there's the classic, "Miss, I'm too hot, can you put the fans on?" Guess what!? The student is wearing a jumper or jacket! If it's too hot, why not take your jumper or jacket off?!
I could cite quite a few other head-slapping moments such as the ones before, but the picture is made clear. Common sense, at least among teenagers, is not as common as it used to be. I don't know how it has reached this point, but I am seriously concerned about the future. After all, when these students leave school, they will be the ones serving the public in some way.
If only we could have a special subject in schools that teaches students to use common sense. They need to learn that they have the ability to answer many of the questions that they ask every day, or to solve the dilemmas that they come across. If only they would look into their own banks of knowledge and find the answer! Then again, it would take common sense to do that, wouldn't it? September 01 It's All in the StatisticsI've hardly been on my blog site, putting up token entries just so that hotmail doesn't shut me down. However, if this was a business, then "business must be booming" as this blog has reached over
6,000
page views!
It's all in the statistics, folks! The only reason that my blog is so popular at the moment, is because of my Guitar Hero guitar grip customised skin. People have either looked at it, or have downloaded it.
I guess it pays to share. August 09 The Best Insult I've Ever ReadI've just finished reading the fifth book of The Mallorean by David Eddings, titled 'The Seeress of Kell'.
One of the characters in the book, Mandorallen, Baron of Vo Mimbre, decides to incite a fellow knight to a duel by insulting him. I had to blog this, because the insult that Mandorallen gives is probably the best insult I've ever read;
July 20 New Highest Bowling ScoreLast Sunday night was a great night for bowling.
I went in with the attitude that I was going to beat another lady's highest score for women in the league, as she had beat my one the week before that. She bowled a 212, which is the same as my highest bowling score in any year, but my highest for the league was 207. So, I had to be really pumped to try and beat what was essentially my own highest score.
After giving myself this mental pep-talk, I went in with guns blazing. I absolutely smashed the female highest score for the league, and consequently my own previous high score. I bowled 236!!!
The lady whose score I beat was probably a little cut, as her highest female score for the league only lasted one week!
Ben also did very well. He bowled his highest score of 266 in the next game. He said that I bowled so well that I inspired him! Overall, we blitzed the team we were bowling against, and came away with a very good feeling.
Now let's see how long my score will last before it gets beaten again. This is a cash league, so if I hang onto the top score spot, then I get money for it!
Proof. |
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
|
|
