1.) I can't wait to see what candidate pictures MSNBC uses during their presidential coverage on election night. I hope they feature the same hilarious ones they used during the primary and caucus process. Their John McCain picture, for instance, featured a face so airbrushed it looked like the John McCain of thirty-five years ago with the odd added effect of a mop of prematurely white hair. Given the confident tilt of the head and winning, Hollywood smile, it looked more like Tom Cruise in a white wig than it did the modern John McCain.
For his part, Barack Obama's picture was also far less-than-accurate, as it made him look like a junior high student who cannot hide the joy he feels at having recently had his braces removed. Given that picture, if I didn't know better, I would have thought that Barack Obama would be a shoe-in to win the position of this year's student council president.
2.) I started a three-month teaching job this past week. I hope it leads to a permanent position because I like the set-up of the school at which I'm teaching; the teachers are serious and focused on the same set of academic principles, but they are allowed to use a considerable amount of flexibility and creativity in their lesson plans. It is, I think, a good, healthy balance between consistency and individuality in the classroom.
The only thing I still fail to understand is the workplace obsession with e-mails--I'm speaking in general, as opposed to this particular workplace. I can understand and in fact support the notion of a given school's principal, for instance, sending out a general daily e-mail, and I also support the idea of the head of each department sending out a weekly e-mail. These scenarios can have the effect of making sure that everyone is orbiting the same sphere, so to speak, and it can clarify any outstanding instances of generalized confusion regarding any of a number of things.
What I don't particularly think works, however, is when somone sends you an e-mail and then, fifteen-or-so minutes later, walks up to you and says, "Did you get my e-mail?" This occured to me this past week when I was in the supply room, sifting through textbooks for my next class. A fellow employee walked into the supply room and asked me if I had received her e-mail, which she had apparently sent within the half-hour. I told her that I had been in the supply room for that time, so no, I had not receive her e-mail. Then I asked her what she wrote in it. She proceeded to describe the situation, which had to do with telling students in one of my classes about a schedule change for the computer lab. I told her that I would let the students know about it.
She's a very good teacher (I sat in on one of her classes, and was impressed) and a personable individual, so I don't mean to dismiss her personally. But I wonder if the majority of workplace e-mails aren't simply a waste of time that tend to muddy the operational waters. As I stated above, in a school setting, I would suggest that the principal and head of each department should send general e-mails to those working under them on a fairly regular basis. Beyond that, however, I would point out that unless the school is absolutely enormous (this one is not), I often find it far easier to simply speak face-to-face with colleagues about alterations in plans, etc.
Things seem to move more smoothly when e-mails are kept to a minimum, because when that occurs, most everyone tends to read closely and digest the few e-mails that are sent. Yet when e-mails pile upon one another, people tend to take in very little insofar as details are concerned, which often defeats the purpose of the e-mails in the first place.
The bottom line, however, is that for now, at least, I'm employed on a full-time basis. I am most certainly not complaining.
3.) From a message left on our voicemail by Mrs. Hasslington's (British) father: "...I'll call you again later. I assume you are out Baracking for Obama at present...."
4.) You either "get" English pub rock (an earlier, more crisp and rhythmic version of the often grungier American garage band motif) or you don't "get" it. Personally, I enjoy it immensely. Because of its evocative sound and looping guitar riffs, my vote for the greatest English pub rock song of all time is "Sultans of Swing" by the early, far less arena-rock-infused incarnation of Dire Straits.
Let me be clear: I've got nothing against their mid-1980s album "Brothers In Arms," which is strong arena-rock stuff, but I simply prefer the tighter, punchy sounds of the earlier Dire Straits, which can be enjoyed even in the most contained spaces, such as, well, English pubs.
5.) By the way, I meant to publish this nearly two weeks ago and simply forgot: Paul Simon, my favorite musical artist (who is still releasing music and performing around the world; his 2006 album "Surprise" was criminally underappreciated by nearly everyone but most music critics, and he was touring in Europe just this past summer), turned sixty-seven on October 13.
His voice is still mellifluous after all these years....
6.) I posted the following comment, with just a couple of changes in order to show context, on my friend Anoka Flash's "Centrisity" blog-site this past week, in regards to early voting (particularly, but not exclusively, via mail):
"...when it comes to voting, I prefer the traditional method of standing in line on election day with my 'neighbors,' as Flash puts it.
"That being said, we are not living in a Hardy Boys book. If others wish to vote via mail, I find it ridiculous to suggest that they shouldn't do that. Let them vote via mail, for goodness sake.
"I also find it very odd indeed that some folks think that we ought to continue to do nearly everything as we did fifty years ago; that's a sure sign of a weakening nation. You either move forward or you regress; there really is no stasis.
"So let's evolve with the times--in proactive ways as opposed to superficial ways, of course--like we tend to do (at least when we have been strong). Let people vote via mail or at the polls as they wish, and let's get the Mayberry theme music out of our heads.
"Speaking of Mayberry, it seems as though even Andy Griffith supports Barack Obama, given the recent and amusing Ron Howard mini-film released in support of Barack Obama's candidacy...."
As always, I recommend reading the Centrisity blog-site (http://centrisity.blogspot.com/) on a fairly regular basis, as well as my friend Penigma's blog-site (http://penigma.blogspot.com/).
7.) Last but not least, it was six years ago that we lost U.S. Senator Paul Wellstone in a plane crash. Whether you tended to agree with him or not, one thing is for sure: he was an authentic individual. His loss is still felt in Minnesota, and beyond.
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