December 2007 archive

(Cross posted at Dailykos)

I have been asked to post a list of books for the Holidays….or just general gift-giving… I don’t know if I can do that because the list would really be very long and the number of categories would be really diverse

I am a little out-of-date since I have neglected reading the books my students read (being retired, I have no students but I am active in a couple of organizations that promote literature and literacy). So now, I concentrate on books for ME!!!! Unfortunately, they seem to have taken a current events and political nature and are thoroughly depressing and I can’t recommend them to anyone except people here.

As a Reading Teacher, my philosophy was that there is a book out there for everyone and no one should be afraid to read a book.After all, a book is not god….I know this is debatable, but not here.

So, I decided that, in order to find a book for the reluctant readers of the world, I needed to start reading those books, sometimes to the tune of 100 to 150 per year! (I don’t read anywhere near that now!) It was not as daunting as it sounds….Children’s Lit and Young Adult Lit were usually under 200 pages, often near 100 pages and the reading level was generally around the 5-th Grade level. (Most popular Adult novels – ie. Romance, Mystery, Adventure-Thriller-Spy type novels and Horror novels are written at the 6-th Grade level. That is why it is so easy for a person to read one in a day or two, even if it is 4 or 500 pages thick)

The advent of the huge, wordy, descriptive books has really turned a lot of slower readers off. That is why it has become more urgent for teachers and parents to find the book (or books) that will turn on youngsters to reading. There are several ways to select an appropriate book. The most popular is the “rule of thumb”.  

Cross-posted at GOS.

Last week, my Pony Party covered the unsavory topic of Worst Meals Ever. Kossacks shared their horror stories which made my experiences pale by comparison: from something that resembled shaved, boiled hamster to turkey testicles and slugs in hot chili garlic sauce, I was repeatedly amazed by how many dreadful food experiences we’ve had.

These memories clearly continue to make us shudder with revulsion. But, I thought, we must also have memories of some stellar meals; I was not alone in this belief. So, join me on the flip side for a synopsis of some of my favorite meals.

Well, I’m kind of upset tonight because I’ve encountered some people with an attitude that is inexplicable to me.  Privately I call them Tories because the exhibit all of the classical features of Toryism.

Perpetually gloomy about the prospect of liberty they sulk inflicting their pessimism on morale.  They derive bitter satisfaction from their self-fulfilling prophecies of doom.  Openly aristocratic and monarchist they are content that their new insect overlords beat them and cheat them, panting for scraps like a common cur except a dog has too noble a soul to accept such offal.

But the worst offenders are those who think like this but still expect our votes, money, and effort as if they had some God anointed right to join the gated Village and get away from the foul smelling rabble.

What country are you from?

You have no right to my labor, property, or allegiance.  You are not the boss of me.  I am in fact YOUR boss, I gave you that job and I sign your damn check and I expect respect from my employees otherwise I fire their sorry ass and hire somebody else.

I can’t understand how the admission of several Congress people that their vote on the August FISA was influenced by fear for their personal safety because of White House lies about a potential attack on the Capital is anything but craven cowardice.  It is exactly the same thing as desertion in the face of the enemy.  Brave men have died for our freedom.  Do you have some special lucky charm that makes your miserable existence worth more than any of the 3892 that died for a lie in Iraq?  Would you sell your child for $10 million?

That’s the going rate you know.  I know what you are- now we’re just negotiating about the price.  Unless you just give it away.

Oh wait, that’s what you do.

You should be afraid of me because I know what you are…

A weakling.

I heard from a little bird a request we do some Holiday Cheer stuff here at Docudharma.

Well, I don’t know how cheery this is, but it is one of my favorite spiritual prayer/songs.  Ava Maria.  The Shubert version.  I read he wrote this in devotion to the Virgin Mary when he was a young man.  The melody is one of the loveliest I have ever heard.

But I also think about Mary (in my own idiosyncratic way).  She may have been a young girl when she gave birth to Jesus, but when he was crucified, she was no longer young.  If she was 16 when she gave birth, then 33 years later she was 48.

To watch your son die just when you are entering middle age and facing your own mortality, that is a story in itself,  I think.

Anyway, enough of my odd meanderings.  Here is my version, just a fragment of the song as I couldn’t find lyrics which would teach me the entire version.  As usual, please remember to turn the volume down, or the distortion won’t be purty.

So, a fragment of Ava Maria.  Merry Christmas to all, in the real spirit of the holiday.

Gabcast! Auld Manhattoe #5

Update 2:  A key point from a comment on the Wexler diary by John’s former student ctrenta:

… and one other VERY important thing for all…

… call Nancy Pelosi’s office and politely ask her to meet with Nirenburg when he arrives in Washington, DC. That’s going to be the toughest thing of all. Not the walk, not the weather, but whether or not Pelosi will have the audacity to meet him when he arrives. She better.

Call Pelosi’s office today and ask her to meet with him,

(202) 225-4965

Update:  Just heard that John will be on the Morning Show on WWRL 1600 AM (flagship station of Air America) with Mark Riley and Richard Bey Tuesday morning at 7:05 AM.  Tune in and call in and mention the rally!

John Nirenberg, a retired academic from Brattleboro, Vermont is walking the 458 miles from Boston to Washington, DC to reclaim his rights as a Citizen and ask Nancy Pelosi to put impeachment back on the table.  He will arrive in Manhattan this Wednesday, the 19th.  

A group of New York’s grass roots, anti-war, pro-impeachment and civil liberties activists will gather to greet John at 125th Street and Broadway at 10 A.M.  and proceed downtown to a rally at 4:30 p.m. at the Parish Room at St. Mark’s Church in-the-Bowery. Sharing their views on impeachment with John Nirenberg will be Elizabeth Holtzman, Denis Moynihan from Democracy Now!, Clarice Torrence, President, NY Metro Area Postal Union, APWU, AFL-CIO, and others.  

If you can make it – Wednesday, 4:30-6:30 at the Parish Room at St. Mark’s in the Bowery, 131 East 10th Street – we’d love to see you.  And if you do – Pfiore8, I’m looking at you – please come up and introduce yourself! If you’d like to join John on his trek through Manhattan, you can either meet up with him at 10 am at 125th and Broadway or call Dave at 917.446.6686 and he will tell you where you can meet up with the group.

In case you would like to know more about John….

During his entire 40-day journey which began in Boston on December 1st, John Nirenberg is urging people to speak out on the Constitutional crisis we face and will explain why he thinks it vital to impeach Bush and Cheney. He is collecting signatures on impeachment petitions, as well as pictures and testimonials from citizens, hoping to give the Speaker a human connection to the numbers echoing his call.

A former Professor of Organizational Behavior and a college Dean, Nirenberg started his career as a Social Studies and American History teacher during the Nixon administration, “I’m shocked that the laws Congress passed in the 1970s to prevent Presidential abuse of power are being so ignored by Bush/Cheney.”

Nirenberg explains, “The Bush/Cheney administration must be held accountable for their high crimes and misdemeanors and their complete disregard for the U.S. Constitution. That’s why I’m going to Nancy Pelosi’s office, why I have to ‘walk my talk.’ I’m marching for the millions of citizens who can’t but who feel betrayed because our safeguarding system of checks and balances is so out of balance.” Nirenberg wants to encourage citizen action, “I hope some people will  march with me – even for a mile or two,” he says – “but I hope everyone will march whenever they can and go to or contact Speaker Pelosi (202 225-0100) and House Judiciary Committee Chair John Conyers (202 225-5126) to tell them it is unacceptable to the American people that Congress is not yet holding this administration accountable for its egregious law breaking.”

Along the way, Nirenberg will meet with students, interested citizens, impeachment groups, and media representatives. It is groups such as the one in New York City who feel that it is time for Speaker Pelosi to put impeachment back on the table!   Nirenberg believes that they will help raise the consciousness of yet other people who might feel as discouraged as he had once been. Those who can’t walk along beside him can follow his progress on his website, MarchInMyName.org.  

In Nirenberg’s own words: “I want to move the impeachment effort forward and to save our Constitution. Nothing can destroy it faster than collective indifference.” John Nirenberg is convinced that, with a little help from his friends, his march can, indeed, make a difference – he has faith that “right makes might.”