A Message of Hope

What one inspired teacher and one inspired message of hope can do.

Blissfully stolen from Candace.

It does occur to me that said teacher should also be having the students watch speeches from Clinton, McCain, etc.  I wonder if he is.  I hope so.

I fervently hope so, because not only would it be right, but I think Obama’s empowering message would leave theirs in the dust, anyway.

I’m sure some of you disagree.

But still.  The hope and power I hear in those students’ words and voices when they give their own speeches stirs my soul.  An individual can make a difference.

Teachers can make a difference.

And that’s my real message here.  Gifted teachers find a way to inspire.  I wish we had more of them.  But for those that we have, I give much thanks.

Thinking Bloggers

I have been graced with a Thinking Blogger Award.*

This bothered me at first, because not many people accuse me of thinking.

But then I read the description, that I am one of “5 Blogs That Make Me Think” (in this case, that make Jennifer think) and okay, I can live with that. I know I make people think. I make them think things like, “Man, won’t she just shut up about politics and leave President Bush alone?” and “This woman thinks she’s a writer, and she can’t even dangle a participle properly?” and “Clue! Clue! Give her a clue!”

Actually, I’m honored. Jennifer is amazing, and to think that I make her think is … thought-provoking!

But now I have to tag five blogs that make me think.

The first one is easy.

Diane

She’s a true pioneer of the online journal, all the way back to … 1997? (No, I’m told by a Reliable Source that it was 1996!) When there were fewer than 100 journals online. Maybe way less than that. When she crossed the vast empty expanse of the internet in a covered wagon and used the Sears catalog for toilet paper and ended up in a small apartment in Los Angeles with a computer and Ikea furniture. (My first introduction to Ikea.)

She not only has made me think, she has made me act. I bought a bike because Diane wrote about them and linked to great bike blogs and I finally couldn’t stand it any more and had to have one of my own. She’s constantly posting things and linking to things that make me think and act. What’s more, SHE thinks. She’s a real thinker, that Diane. So Diane has to be first. She was the first journal I read, the one I never stopped reading, and now that she’s a blog, the same still holds. Diane, the champ.

The Rob

I came late to the cult of the Rob. I’ve only known him as a father. His posts about Schuyler and her monster have made me think, laugh, and yes, have made my eyes leak. Rob is an amazing writer with a book coming out next year. A book about Schuyler’s Monster. Rob can write about anything and be fascinating, but when he writes about his daughter, his writing is transcendent. And of course, he’s just one of the best dads ever.

Michael

So, it started off as a simple idea. Michael was tired of driving a car for numerous reasons, and set out to maximize the number of times he used alternative forms of transportation one summer, and minimize the number of times he used a car alone. And then … he kept going. He makes me think and inspires me to act. I like that.

Mental multivitamin

A link I snagged from Diane awhile back. M-mv thinks a LOT more than I do. She even reads and loves Shakespeare! She homeschools, and is one person who I think can probably do a damn good job of it. She introduces me to new books, new ideas, and makes me want to join her as she rolls about and frolics in the pure joy of learning.

~~~

And … that’s it. Four. It’s not that I don’t have other blogs that make me think. It’s just that from this point forward, it gets too hard to choose. Especially when so many of them are by my friends. My friends make me think too damn much. I mean, sometimes a girl just wants to play. And I go to see if they can come out to play and see them posting about politics and important things and next thing I know, I’m enraged and engaged and my god, why won’t my friends just play with Barbie dolls and drink margaritas and read trashy novels and let me stop thinking all the damn time?!?

And there are so many good blogs on writing and GTD and other stuff I’m interested in that make me think. All you have to do is look at my blogroll.

But for this meme?

These are my four. Check ‘em out.

* The participation rules are simple:

1. If, and only if, you get tagged, write a post with links to 5 blogs that make you think,
2. Link to this post so that people can easily find the exact origin of the meme,
3. Optional: Proudly display the ‘Thinking Blogger Award’ with a link to the post that you wrote (there is an alternative silver version if gold doesn’t fit your blog).

A question for those writing novels

If you signed up to take a course on Basics of Writing a Novel and the instructor had you watch two different MOVIES during the 8-week course, would that rub you the wrong way?

I use WITNESS to demonstrate story structure right now. (I know, some of you have taken the course, and I’ll be interested in your responses.) I once had a woman quit because she didn’t sign up to learn how to “write movies” so I’ve always been aware that some students might not understand why I do this, even though I explain in class. But I find it easier and more approachable to ask a class to watch a movie the week before we discuss plot (so that we all have the same images and events and character issues, etc. for illustration) than to ask them to go home and read a book that week. I also think it’s near impossible to come up with a book to assign that everybody would enjoy, while most people like Witness well enough, plus there’s the time issue — 112 minutes (film) vs. several hours (book).

So I do that and assume that students understand why, and it does seem to help when we start talking about elements of story. In fact, being able to refer back to WITNESS and some of the situations and characters in later weeks is a benefit throughout the course.

Let’s face it — just in general we are all more likely to be familiar with the same movie and television characters than those in books, no matter how popular the book. My references to books such a the Lord of the Rings Trilogy and Charlotte’s Web are as unfamiliar to some of my students as references to The Accidental Tourist and oh — any title I can name. I can’t think of a single title that is easily known by everybody, even when you get down to folk tales and stories (David and Goliath sometimes doesn’t get the spark of recognition I’d have expected, since the reference is so widely used. People understand the concept, but don’t know/recall the story.)

So okay, I tell people to watch Witness. BUT I’m thinking of adding a second movie assignment for later. I haven’t decided — I need to watch it again myself to decide — but the chapter on Characterization in Writing the Romantic Comedy and its breakdown of the characters and relationships in Tootsie is so terrific, I’m already wanting to cite it as an example in reviews I’m doing for people who aren’t writing romantic comedy at all.

So, would you be annoyed if you were asked to watch two movies (not during class — at home) as part of a noncredit class on writing novels?

I Got Kinky

So I went and saw Kinky tonight and signed his petition to get him on the ballot for governor. I didn’t get my picture taken with him but sat at the bar about four feet away from him while he signed and took pictures and signed and took pictures, etc.

So I bought a lot of stuff, including his CD (recorded in Sausalito in 1973) with such classic Kinky-hits as “Get Your Biscuits in the Oven and Your Buns in the Bed,” and “Ride ‘Em, Jewboy.”

Here he is signing my CD:

And in case you’re wondering why the hell anybody would take him seriously (from his campaign site):

Kinky’s Common-Sense Priorities
Education

Texas has the second-largest population of any state in the country and two of the ten largest cities. That’s an awfully big cart to pull with the horsepower we’re currently giving our kids in Texas schools. An educated workforce and top-notch schools are essential to keeping our state attractive to new business, but we’re failing the test.

Texas has the 8th largest economy in the world, but we’re 1st in drop-out rates and 49th in education spending in the country.

Teachers’ salaries in Texas are over $6,000 below the national average. This lack of respect for the people who do our state’s most important job must stop. As governor, Kinky will work to make sure that teachers are paid what they’re worth. Period.
The TAKS test and its predecessor, TAAS, were invented essentially to make legislators look good on education. But studies show that rigid enforcement of standardized test scores doesn’t help kids learn or make teachers more effective. Teach to the test and kids will learn the test—but not much else.

Healthcare

Texas ranks rock-bottom in providing for the basic needs of its youngest and poorest residents. More than one fifth of Texas children have no health insurance at all.

In 2003, Texas legislators slashed the Children’s Health Insurance Program, pulling the rug out from under 170,000 kids. Not only did this put more of our children at risk, it ended up costing the state tens of thousands of health care jobs and $16 billion in lost productivity. Kinky believes this is reckless and short-sighted—no way to invest in the future of Texas.

We’re a state that prides itself on friendliness and responsibility, but the message we’re sending our kids is that if you’re going to be born poor, you’d better not be born in Texas.

Renewable Energy

It’s time for Texas to reclaim bragging rights as an energy icon. As governor, Kinky will accomplish that by encouraging investment and innovation in new methods of electricity generation and new fuels like biodiesel.

Think these are fringe technologies? Think again. Wind power plants, solar power arrays, and landfill gas capture systems are already in operation across Texas in cities from Fort Stockton to Fort Worth. Texas has been called “the Saudi Arabia of renewable energy,” and firms from TXU to Kyocera are already clamoring for a piece of the action.

Despite our staggering potential, only 0.7% of Texas’ energy needs come from renewable sources. That puts us 51st in the nation, behind even Washington D.C.

Biodiesel—it’s good enough for Willie Nelson’s tour bus, and the city of Denton is using it to fuel their entire fleet of diesel trucks. Biodiesel is fuel you can grow. That’s good for farmers, good for the air, good for the Texas energy industry and good for Texans. With biodiesel, everybody wins but OPEC.

No way is a Democrat going to beat the jerk who is presently governor of Texas. But Kinky has a shot, and not only do I agree with his campaign slogan, “How hard can it be?” (considering who has recently inhabited our governor’s mansion), I also agree with his, “Why the hell not?”

Vote Kinky.

Thank God somebody’s raising these issues.

Or as Kinky says, “May the God of your choice bless you.”