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gregluvsjew
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Name: Greg
Country: Iran
Metro: Tehran
Birthday: 1/30/1987
Gender: Male
Interests: golf, cheeseblock, evil strawberries, peanut butter jelly time, teaching, candles, postmodernism, vintage Christianity, bread, designer jeans, Starbucks, the shiny earth-colored vessels that so effortlessly transport the scalding dark addiction where it meets a pair of fleshy friends pursing gently to receive the caffeinated delight
Expertise: of nothing am i an expert, but a connoisseur i might consider myself... but only in such a select number of things that it might yet be regarded as irrelevant. but in any case, might the words that dance in your ears find solace in the inner quiet of our solitude.
Occupation: Professional Educator
Message: message me
Website: visit my website
AIM:  gregluvsjew
MSN: doubleg2005@yahoo.com
Yahoo:  doubleg2005
Member Since:
10/4/2005
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| I just finished watching an indie flick (in German, no less) called "The Edukators." The premise of the film is there are a couple of idealist 20-somethings living in Berlin that have taken to breaking into the homes of the wealthy and completely rearranging their furniture. They don't steal anything, since the wealthy expect burglars. However, as Jan explains to one of his partners in crime, they are taking something much more valuable: their security. By leaving a note that reads "you have too much money" or "your days of plenty are numbered" they have instilled a much deeper fear than simple theft. However, when the owner of one home catches them in the act, they panic and decide to throw idealism out the window by kidnapping the man.
This is a film that desperately struggles with the reality that idealist 20-somethings are living in a world operated by a machine. At the helm of the machine, of course, are wealthy capitalists (according to one character in the movie, though another would disagree). At one point, four characters are sitting around a table discussing how the impoverished and the wealthy lead highly intertwined lives and how the wealth of the few not only requires the poverty of the many, but perpetuates it. The statement is made that "the machine" wants to keep people poor because it's a way of controlling them. Later on, a man stands on a grassy knoll absorbing the view of the mountains before him and reflects. He ponders how he truly thought his own 20-something idealism would have translated, but life got in the way. "At some point, you trade in your car." He ponders how he believed that money would liberate him, only to find that with more money came more responsibility and that it's truly like being in jail.
I hit my favorite button in all of Firefox-dom: Stumble! The result was a website about the views of heaven and hell according to Buddhism. I thought the following quotes were very interesting, especially given the movie I had just watched and the issues that it dealt with.
"The Buddha's Teaching shows us that there are heavens and hells not only beyond this world, but in this very world itself."
"The fire of hell in this world is hotter than that of the hell in the world-beyond. There is no fire equal to anger, lust or greed and ignorance."
"From a Buddhist point of view, the easiest way to define hell and heaven is that where ever there is more suffering, either in this world or any other plane, that place is a hell to those who suffer. And where there is more pleasure or happiness, either in this world or any other worldly existence, that place is a heaven to those who enjoy their worldly life in that particular place."
Now, I've been a proponent of similar views for quite some time, but I just thought it was interesting to hit up those two ideas within 5 minutes of watching a movie that so clearly demonstrated such concepts. (For further viewing on such a topic, I also strongly recommend "Crash" and "Trade.")
Thanks to Blockbuster and StumbleUpon for this post. | | |
| Well, it's here. I have my first classes on Monday. Weird.
Can I just say that I don't want to be a grown-up?
Anyways, I plan on posting some reflections on my first year from time to time. I imagine that I won't really have the resources (i.e.- time) to post about more than that...
something I've already picked up on is that people notice your dress. Now, don't get me wrong, I know this and have known it for quite some time. However, I guess it didn't really sink in until this past week when I had multiple coworkers use my dress as an example of the professionalism we should be striving for.
Our district just implemented a Standard of Dress (I'm supposed to emphasize that we did NOT go to uniforms) and there have been numerous conversations, discussions, and arguments about this new Standard of Dress, both for students and educators. I would say that many teachers aren't happy about it, to say the least, and some are flat refusing to abide by it. (Now, what kind of example is THAT setting for our students?) However, the way I look at it, you should always dress for the job you want, not the job you have. (Business school principle hangover...) To bring it a little closer to home, any teacher that thinks students don't notice is completely out of touch. Last year when I was subbing, I constantly got comments from students about how dressed up I was (at most shirt and tie) and in reality, most teachers should have been at least as dressed up as I was. We are professionals and we need to look, act, and think like it.
Anyways, on Thursday we had a workday followed by Open House that night. For the workday, I chose a spirit shirt and jeans (which is actually within the employee dress code for workdays and Fridays) and all day I had other teachers coming up to me noting that they had never seen me in a t-shirt or sneakers. I told them I had clothes to change into for the Open House and went about my business getting ready for the evening.
On Friday, we had an all-staff meeting and the issue of dress code for students came up, closely followed by the issue of employee dress code. Some people made it very clear they didn't believe that dress for students or employees made a difference. Others believed that the way you dress greatly impacts your behavior and thought processes. Personally, I'm not as concerned about student dress as employee dress. The way you present and carry yourself, especially in front of your students, speaks volumes about who you are and what you think about yourself.
I don't want to give the impression that the staff split into two groups or that there was any tension or hurt feelings, because that's not the case. After all, we are professionals and we all know how to disagree well.
Besides, it's not personal. It's business. | | |
| Nationalism-
1. national spirit or aspirations.
2. devotion and loyalty to one's own nation; patriotism.
3. excessive patriotism; chauvinism.
4. the desire for national advancement or independence.
5. the policy or doctrine of asserting the interests of one's own nation, viewed as separate from the interests of other nations or the common interests of all nations.
Today I was driving (some would call it that, others would say that I'm impeding the flow of traffic) listening to Derek Webb (a dangerous proposition for those comfortable with themselves or their faith). The idea of nationalism came up as I was being tailgated by a Ford F-250 SuperDuty, jacked up on mud tires, with a confederate flag in place of a front license plate. As the lights flashed and horn honked for me to move (I'm in the right hand lane with an open lane to the left of me... where should I move to?), I continued to drive about 5 under the posted speed limit. Finally, a violent swerve that nearly took my bumper with it, triggered (no pun intended) the explosion of a gasoline combustion engine being floored as well as the very distinct shout of "damn liberal." How he came to the conclusion that I am a liberal, I'm not sure. Must have been the Apple sticker on my back windshield. No, that couldn't have been it, since the crew of Fox and Friends (on the Fair and Balanced Fox News Network) all have MacBook Pro's... Hmm... I guess only liberals don't speed? No, Al Gore's son was pulled over for driving 100 mph.
In any case, it was interesting that where their front license plate should have been (according to Texas State Law), they proudly displayed the battle flag of a country that hasn't existed for nearly 150 years. Ah, the spirit of nationalism. The idea that your habitat is inherently better than anyone else's. This idea is certainly nothing new as history records battles waged in the name of nationalism as far back as history can go and it will not end anytime soon. I'm not saying nationalism is a bad thing. I think it's wonderful that people want to have pride and purpose in their country, the problem is when it comes to the exclusion of others. Apparently the idea that we have a higher calling to our country than to the people that actually make up the country is one that is pervasive within the human condition.
Take immigration, for example. Certainly a complex issue that cannot ever be exhaustively settled, but the thing that strikes my attention is how so many people want to merely build a giant fence and/or shut down the borders and drive out the people that are here already. Does being born here automatically make you a better human being? Does the fact that you carry US citizenship make you a better person, better worker, better husband or wife, better child, better student, better scientist/philosopher/accountant/etc? Clearly, it does not. In fact, I am willing to bet that if the US citizenship requirements were given as a high school graduation requirement, there would be a large portion of high school students that wouldn't graduate. If the TAKS test was half as hard as the citizenship test... well, let's not go down that road.
In the Middle East, it's country against country, nation-state against nation-state. In Iraq alone, for example, Shiias and Sunnis are struggling for power because they believe they are superior to the other. And what of Palestine and Israel? It should say something that the term "Gaza strip" can be used synonymously with a war zone.
I recently heard someone describing America as "the best damn place on earth" and have frequently heard it described as a place that has been directly blessed by God. As if any other country were immune from God's blessing. I suppose that God blessed America through the rampant mass-murdering of the first Americans? (i.e. Native Americans) I also suppose that God blessed America through the enslavement of another race, forcing them to fuel our economy for free? What about when, in our very own Constitution, we deemed a person of African descent as being less than one whole person? Was that God's blessing? What about that women were entirely excluded from the democratic process for nearly 200 years? What about child labor laws that took over 100 years to enact? What about, more recently, the various administrations that have done their best to bankrupt our nation in the name of protecting it? Frankly, we are still feeling the virulent effects of the Reagan administration, which I was only alive for the last two years of!
Faith in your country to provide for you is one thing. Killing others so that your country can be the best is another. Maybe we've forgotten that it was distaste for the British Empire (as vast and powerful as it was, for far longer than the US is old) is what formed this country in the first place? Or maybe we've forgotten how Europe formed; the splintering of the Roman (and subsequent Holy Roman) Empire(s). In any case, maybe we would be better to realize that China or India is poised to take over America as the dominant nation in the world. Maybe we should take a look around and realize that every empire in the history of the world has fallen until now, and the American Empire certainly isn't on the upswing. Maybe we should realize we are in a global economy. Maybe we should remember the story that Jesus told about the shrewd manager...
to quote the aforementioned Webb,
"nothing unifies like a common enemy
and we’ve got one, sure as hell
but he may be living in your house
he may be raising up your kids
he may be sleeping with your wife
oh no, he may not look like you think" | | |
| The only headline of the day
Read something like this.
"Things are getting worse."
I smile.
Reporters are like lawyers. | | |
| Things I cannot get enough of lately:
Daniel Johnston's lyrics
Stumbleupon
the new Coldplay album (thanks to Elaina for introducing me to Coldplay back in high school...)
bike riding
driving with the windows down (while listening to item 3)
conversations with friends
Things I look forward to:
New Orleans with the wife (and hopefully getting to hang with my long lost friend Toni and her amazing family)
riding my bike
the release of The Dark Knight
Christmas ski trip
Things I want to happen but know they won't:
float trip in Central Texas
Scuba diving in the near future
emergence of a viable third-party candidate
owning an Aptera
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