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| Christmas 1967 - with globe |
Hi Mom, Though foggy, I like this picture. I have a clearer version, but I will share that another time. Here's my with a globe of the world, which I believe is still in my Dad's basement. There's the Major Matt Mason space station, which I cannot part with and would like to set up in a Bat Cave of my very own where I can surround myself with the toys of my youth that may inspire fits of creativity. I feel less inspired by the Green Ghost game, which is very cool. I may sell it on E-Bay.
The picture above was taken at our lake house in Traverse City. I am a huge Lost in Space fan at this time. I am also loving the Spider-Man and Fantastic Four cartoons along with Space Ghost. I have not yet discovered Star Trek. But I do have a clear memory of bringing my Captain Action doll to the playground and using it in some Lost in Space themed game with friends. I was always combining the story products in new ways, even then, as early as Kindergarten.
I fell behind again. It's Sunday the 18th, and I am writing this one for Thursday the 15th.
But, hey, I am officially on Thanksgiving break from two schools, sort of. Concordia University is in recess until the 26th. I gave them Friday the 16th off (which is tomorrow as the dates on this blog go) because I didn't think I would have good attendance. So, outside of catching up on grades, and a phone call I did with a student in lieu of an in-person meeting, I am on break with them. At the very least, I have a respite from preparing classes and putting on the magic show.
With Lower Columbia College, I had originally cancelled class for Tuesday the 20th, but upon further consideration, I decided that I would go and be in the class room, offering extra credit for the students who show up and deliver their Culture Jam essays (it's really more of a project) in person and even more extra credit those who would like to have an optional conference with me. I will be holding eleven such conferences, which is a bit more than I wanted, but that's okay. I am sure I can fit them all in. So, despite having a break from preparing classes for them -- as I have to fill up four and a half hours per week of class time as opposed to the 150 minutes I prep and fill for Concordia -- I have to catch up on grading and try to have an accurate grade picture ready for Tuesday.
The other schools, the online schools, are not on break but I can maintain them pretty easily.
I finally got back to listening to my audio book. I am still slowly making my way through A People's History of the United States, but it's a wee bit of a rough slog and depressing. We Americans have been and continue to be a horror show. Plus, I have been using driving time -- when I often listen to audio books -- to practice class lectures and prepare by running over things I want to say in repetitions. Then, even after class, there's so much CLUTTER AND NOISE in my head that I needed either silence -- such as it is in the car -- or music to be able to decompress and try to stop the flood of thoughts and pumped up volume thundering through my mind and clattering against the underside of my skull.
But with no prep to do for schools for over a week, I was able to turn the volume WAY DOWN on the clutter and noise and regain a semblance of concentration to make the mental space needed for audio books, especially one as challenging as A People's History. I also want to listen to The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich, which will be a similar, long and challenging slog through over 1000 pages of historical text. Worth it but difficult. Meanwhile, I am considering some re-reads of things to better fuel a novel idea I have.
I want to keep this focused and relatively short.
SOME RANDOM BITS
Good news!! Elizabeth Fraser is touring with Massive Attack!! Thanks to my friend Miranda for bringing this great news to my attention. PITCHFORK shared the news of this grand event in which Fraser and Massive Attack tour with a live show dedicated to Mezzanine.
The closest they come to us in the states is California, though if I had a lot of money I would fly to the UK just to see this show.
I have been meaning to read Paul Duffield's comic Firelight Isle, and I just haven't yet. Maybe that's something I should do today, which is actually Sunday and not Thursday. It's good. I know it's good.
You should read it, too. Not you, Mom, more, you the reader who is not my Mom.
From A People's History of United States by Howard Zinn: "In Jackson, Mississippi, in the spring of 1970, on the campus of Jackson State College, a Negro college, police laid down a 28-second barrage of gunfire, using shotguns, rifles, and a submachine gun. Four hundred bullets or pieces of buckshot struck the girls' dormitory and two black students were killed. A local grand jury found the attack "justified" and U.S. District Court Judge Harold Cox (a Kennedy appointee) declared that students who engage in civil disorders "must expect to be injured or killed" ... "These were "normal" cases, endlessly repeated in the history of the country, coming randomly but persistently out of a racism deep in the institutions, the mind of the country" (Zinn, 454-455).
I have been meaning to raid this mix by David Byrne. It has good stuff: some stuff I know, some stuff I don't.
http://davidbyrne.com/radio/david-byrne-presents-the-power-of-song-to-give-voice-is-eternal
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Tributes are being paid to William Goldman, the legendary writer of The Princess Bride and Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, who has died, age 87. https://t.co/GaQdduJimR— Twitter Moments (@TwitterMoments) November 16, 2018
Inconceivable!!
Some really upsetting news...
Unlocked
Can't breathe.
{ all patrons }
https://www.patreon.com/posts/cant-breathe-22757776
Hey all,
I was just about to settle in for a night of fundraiser-posting when I saw the news that Junot Diaz is going to be reinstated to the Pulitzer Board and I'm having trouble breathing.
We worked closely with the independent counsel for months. We liked and trusted them. They always told us, we can't convince the Board to follow our recommendations; we can only give them the review and then legal counsel. I sent them more than fifty sources that detailed--witnessed, experienced--how Diaz used his positions of power to bully and prey on young women of color. More than fifty. They flew to California to interview Zinzi, whom Diaz sexually assaulted, and interviewed her for two hours.
Either the Pulitzer Board doesn't believe her (and everyone else) or they don't care. They just don't care. This is the same Pulitzer Board that just gave out a Pulitzer Prize for #metoo coverage.
I don't know what to do.
I'm sorry, everyone. We tried so hard.
MY REPLY
Wow... this really sucks. Like, "sucks" doesn't even cover it. You did so much. More than most would. You made a difference. Even in small ways, such as how I have recommended his book _BW Life of Oscar Wao_ in college class rooms for years, and I no longer do that because of what you shared and what has been corroborated by so many. This news just makes me sick. But you know what? This is why "metoo is still fighting an uphill battle. We live in a patriarchal, misogynist rape culture that victim blames and doesn't value the rights of women let alone their safety, as evidenced by the recent supreme court confirmation debacle among so many other modern horrors. I can say I am sorry, too, but mostly this news just makes me sick and angry. And worried about you. Please remember to breathe. You're a superhero, Monica. What more could you have done?
And if those things are not upsetting enough...
https://boingboing.net/2018/11/13/new-fbi-report-shows-record-hi.html
/ / 1:20 PM TUE NOV 13, 2018FBI report shows thousands more hate crimes in Trump's first year, a record high
In news that will not surprise anyone who is Black, Latinx, Jewish, Muslim, queer, or a member of any other group targeted by hateful idiots, hate crimes in America are way up under Trump. Says who? FBI.
The Federal Bureau of Investigations just released its 2017 Hate Crime Report. In Donald Trump's first year as President of the United States, FBI reports a record high, with thousands more hate crimes than the year prior.
2013
• 5,928 hate crimes
• 5,928 hate crimes
2014
•5,462 hate crimes
•5,462 hate crimes
2015
•5,818 hate crimes
•5,818 hate crimes
2016
•6,063 hate crimes
•6,063 hate crimes
2017
•8,437 hate crimes.
•8,437 hate crimes.
Here's an excerpt from the top of the FBI's report:
Victims of Hate Crime Incidents
There were 7,106 single-bias incidents involving 8,493 victims.
A percent distribution of victims by bias type shows that 59.6 percent of victims were targeted because of the offenders’ race/ethnicity/ancestry bias; 20.6 percent were targeted because of the offenders’ religious bias; 15.8 percent were victimized because of the offenders’ sexual-orientation bias; 1.9 percent were victimized because of the offenders’ disability bias; 1.6 percent were targeted because of the offenders’ gender identity bias; and 0.6 percent were victimized because of the offenders’ gender bias. (Due to rounding, percentage breakdowns may not add to 100.0 percent.)
Sixty-nine (69) multiple-bias hate crime incidents involved 335 victims.
Offenses by Crime Category
Of the 5,084 hate crime offenses classified as crimes against persons in 2017, 44.9 percent were for intimidation, 34.3 percent were for simple assault, and 19.5 percent were for aggravated assault. Twenty-three rapes, 15 murders, and 1 offense of human trafficking—commercial sex acts were reported as hate crimes. The remaining 27 hate crime offenses were reported in the category of other.
There were 3,115 hate crime offenses classified as crimes against property. The majority of these (74.6 percent) were acts of destruction/damage/vandalism. Robbery, burglary, larceny-theft, motor vehicle theft, arson, and other offenses accounted for the remaining 25.4 percent of crimes against property.
Two hundred thirty-eight (238) additional offenses were classified as crimes against society. This crime category represents society’s prohibition against engaging in certain types of activity such as gambling, prostitution, and drug violations. These are typically victimless crimes in which property is not the object.
Known Offenders
In the UCR Program, the term known offender does not imply that the suspect’s identity is known; rather, the term indicates that some aspect of the suspect was identified, thus distinguishing the suspect from an unknown offender. Law enforcement agencies specify the number of offenders and, when possible, the race of the offender or offenders as a group. Beginning in 2013, law enforcement officers may also report whether suspects were juveniles or adults, as well as the suspect’s ethnicity when possible.
Of the 6,370 known offenders, 50.7 percent were White, and 21.3 percent were Black or African American. Other races accounted for the remaining known offenders: 0.8 percent were American Indian or Alaska Native; 0.7 percent were Asian; less than one-tenth of 1 percent were Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander; and 7.5 percent were of a group of multiple races. The race was unknown for 19.1 percent.
Of the 5,131 known offenders for whom ethnicity was reported, 25.0 percent were Not Hispanic or Latino, 8.8 percent were Hispanic or Latino, and 1.6 percent were in a group of multiple ethnicities. Ethnicity was unknown for 64.5 percent of these offenders.
Of the 4,895 known offenders for whom ages were known, 83.0 percent were 18 years of age or older.
PHOTO GALLIMAUFRY
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| at LCC 1811.13 |
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| at LCC 1811.13 |
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| People who bike to the Tram to OHSU |
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| cool stuff to do at OHSU |
At the Vet and after - 1811.16
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Reflect and connect.
Have someone give you a kiss, and tell you that I love you, Mom.
I miss you so very much, Mom.
Talk to you tomorrow, Mom.
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- Days ago = 1229 days ago
- Bloggery committed by chris tower - 1811.15 - 10:10
NEW (written 1708.27) NOTE on time: I am now in the same time zone as Google! So, when I post at 10:10 a.m. PDT to coincide with the time of your death, Mom, I am now actually posting late, so it's really 1:10 p.m. EDT. But I will continue to use the time stamp of 10:10 a.m. to remember the time of your death, Mom. I know this only matters to me, and to you, Mom.
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