Category: Teaching

Campaigning 101 – Training And Gut Check

If you are a going to be a candidate you have a lot of things to do, but there are even more that are not yours to do at all. That is kind of a cryptic way of saying you have to know your role and stick to it if you are to achieve your goal of being elected so you can make the changes that the people need. How much you need to delegate depends on the size of your race, but make no mistake unless you are running for Dog Catcher of a one dog town, you are going to need other folks to help you.  

Introduction To Wicca/Paganism

ek hornbeck on Daily Kos was kind enough to ask me to post this here. I posted it on kos as guest-host of Unitary Moonbat’s “History For Kossacks” series.

Since our friends on the other side of the aisle often insist on denouncing us as “pagans”, “heathens” or other such things, I thought it might be useful for us to actually know a little bit about Pagans. To this end, a few tidbits of explanation.

American Indians, Hollywood, and Stereotypes

Racism is based on ignorance and is passed down generationally.  One racist adult caretaker may infect a few children with their racism; however, one racist film or television show would infect many more and more deeply ingrain any racism that already was in existence in my opinion. Examples such as in the following video have contributed to anti – Indian sentiments in the popular American culture in the relevant generations who viewed such films.

VIDEO: How Hollywood stereotyped the Native Americans

Friday Constitutional 16 – Amendments 13 and 14, Slavery And Equal Protection

It is Friday, so it must be time for a Constitutional! Welcome to the 16th of the Dog’s series on the United States Constitution. It is hard to believe that the Dog has been writing about the Constitution for 4 months now, but as the Dog’s Mom said (with infinite and constant repetition) anything worth doing is worth doing correctly (she has a bit of a proper English fetish, the Dog blames the Nuns). If you have not been reading this series or missed any of them, you can find all of the previous ones at the following links:

Sorry, the Dog is still having some technical difficulty with the links to the previous installments in this series, he does promise to resolve it one way or the other by next Friday!  

Fireworks In Hubble’s Eye

Crab Nebuala

This composite image was assembled from 24 individual exposures taken with the NASA Hubble Space Telescope Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2

July 4, 1054 Kaifeng, China. (Song Dynastic period)

In the 1st year of the period Chih-ho (1054), the 5th moon, the day chi-ch’ou (July 4th) (a “guest star”) appeared approximately several inches south-east of T’ien-kuan(z Tauri)…

From the Sung-shih annals [Breen & McCarthy (1995) p.4]

The Director of the Astronomical Bureau, the esteemed Yang Wei-te, received reports this day of the appearance of a ‘guest star’ in the constellation Taurus proximate to ? Tauri. The politically minded astronomer decides to wait on a more propitious moment to bring the news to the emperor and his court. He is keenly aware that ‘guest stars’ and comets are generally harbingers of bad fortune.  

Café Discovery: Learning my part

There are Sundays when I don’t have much in the way of words.  At least not much in the way of my words.

This is apparently one of them.

I mean, I had a story just before I fell asleep last night and it migrated into a dream, I’m pretty sure, but as these things happen, when I woke up, it was gone.  I have a little suspicion of what it was about, but if I try to force it, I know I will be displeased with the result, that it wouldn’t end up being what it wanted to be.

So I’m going to leave that up to my subconscious to play and do with what it will.  Maybe the story will reappear and maybe it won’t.

Meanwhile, I’m supposed to be learning some lines from Eve Ensler’s The Vagina Monologues.  We have rehearsals Monday and Tuesday nights and it’s show time on Wednesday and Thursday.

Specifically, my part comes from They beat the girl out of my boy…or so they tried.

But I’ve spent most of the day with my art program instead.

Friday Constitutional 15- Amendments 11 And 12

Happy Friday and welcome to the 15th installment (does this feel like a 30 year mortgage to anyone else?) in the Dog’s series on the United States Constitution. This series is taking a layman’s look at the Constitution and talking about what each part means. If you have never read the whole thing before, the Dog recommends that you do. After all it is the foundational document of our entire system of law, so it is worth knowing. If you have not been following this series you can find the previous installments at the following links;

Um, The Dog is having some technical difficulties this week, so there will not be any links, hopefully by next Friday we can get this resolved.  

Petition: Stop Land Run Re – Enactments (Edited)


Stop Land Run Re – Enactments in Oklahoma Public Schools

WHEREAS, S.P.I.R.I.T is working for the rights of Oklahoma Indians, all American Indians, Indigenous people and the peaceful solution to all differences; and

WHEREAS, the Oklahoma History and US History does not provide the whole and true history of Oklahoma Indians or American Indians (Native Americans), and

WHEREAS, re-enacting the Land Run in public schools and in communities in Oklahoma is demeaning and humiliating to Oklahoma Indians, and

– snip –

NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the undersigned and S.P.I.R.I.T, the group formed to help American Indians with matters such as these, formally requests the Oklahoma School Boards, Department of Education, Legislators and public officials to abolish the Land Run re-enactments held annually in this state.

http://www.ipetitions.com/peti…

Café Discovery: Holiday Train Show – infrastructure

Back on January 8, Debbie and I took a trip to the New York Botanical Garden.  I brought along my new camera and took a lot of photos.

Previous sub-collections are available here:

Haupt Conservatory included some of the plant exhibits, including the desert succulents.

statuary displayed photos of three public art installations.

public spaces was the first part of the Holiday Train Show exhibition.

Today’s collection is part two of three of the latter.  Still to come will be (roughly) wealth, skyscrapers, and entertainment.

Clicking upon the photos should open larger versions in a new tab.

Peanut Butter Recall

The peanut butter recall continues to spread.  This afternoon, while I was at work, my colleague got a phone call instructing her to pull a bunch more products, apparently in response to the latest round of recall news.

More recently, I visited La Vida Locavore…there’s more on the way.  The entire situation ain’t pretty.

FWIW, Reese’s peanut butter cups seem to remain safe, as the Reese’s people seem never to have bought anything from the supplier in question.

But jars of pb are now on the do-not-eat list.

Café Discovery: Holiday Train Show – public spaces

Earlier this month Debbie and I trekked to the Bronx on a very cold day, to the New York Botanical Garden, in order to see the Holiday Train Show.

I’ve got to say up front that we went because Debbie is a train fan and has a small collection of models.  We were extremely disappointed in the train portion of the train show.  But the buildings were magnificent!

Mostly, if not all organic, the historical models of New York’s architectural past were well worth the visit.

Up today are some of the public spaces.  Coming in the future will be the private dwellings, commercial enterprises, bridges, trains, and churches included in the exhibit of more than 140 models.

Clicking on the graphics will often reward you with a larger view.  

Café Discovery: statuary

Last time I displayed some photos from the Haupt Conservatory at the New York Botanical Garden, which Debbie and I visited on January 8 in order to see the Holiday Train Show.

The Train Show photos will be shown in the future, but that will take awhile since I have 79 of them to pour through…and then there are the ones Debbie took with her camera.

But that’s not all we did while we were there.  There was an exhibit called Kiku:  The Art of the Japanese Chrysanthemum at the LuEsther T. Mertz Library which I wanted to see very much, to add to the knowledge of the Edo Period I gained in my visit to LACMA last summer.

They didn’t allow photos in the museum, so I made do with photos of some public art out in front of the library.

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