To Fight or Not To Fight ...that is the Question

I will count the number of fights I have in on my fingers ...let's see ... all fingers are still down.  I have not been in a single fight in my life.  In our society I am now supposed to feel like I am less of a man.  Or time to be labeled a wimp or worse.  Heck, for some reason ignorant people even label this gay.  Interesting that not fighting connects to a sexual orientation.  I want to take a moment to get in the ring and go a few rounds about fighting and why it even gets to this point or if it has to at all.

Reflecting on life, there have been times I was nearly in fights.  One time a soccer game got out of control and fans with beer bottles ran onto the field and began smashing bottles, kicking and punching our team.  One guy took a bottle, cracked it against a goal post and came at me.  I took a defensive stance and said something like, "Dude, what are you doing.  This ain't our fight.  We came to play soccer!"  For some reason that made sense to him and we proceeded to work together to get our separate friends to safety.

Years after that soccer incident, there was another one where a teammate of mine was cleated in the head and came up with a golf-ball-sized welt on his head, a crack through it and blood seeping out.  Immediately one of my teammates went to his trunk to get a baseball bat and came out swinging while one of their teammates went to his bag on the sidelines and got a knife.  For me, the important thing was getting my hurt teammate to safety.  I was concerned he wasn't going to do well with blood pouring out of his skull.  For others though, it's always about revenge.  It's always about defending ... I guess I'm wondering at times what is being defended.

If the only option was to fight to defend, I would.  Example, my wife, one of my children, even the Easter Bunny possibly in peril and needing my help.  I would definitely risk my safety to help them.  I would easily put my my body in harm's way.

But fighting you because you said something behind my back?  Fighting you because you called me out in front of others?  Fighting you because you are interested in something I have?  What am I defending?  What am I fighting for?

Imagine you could read the minds of everyone around you.  Now imagine the next ten minds you came across were thinking negative things about you.  How silly it would be for you to act on this.  What are you fighting for?  "Well, he was thinking something bad of me?"  A word I don't use often comes to mind - pathetic.

Last night, I had a nightmare.  I was in my classroom and a fight broke out in front of school.  The fight was so bad that one student would never see another day to fight.  The reality of this, is I have experienced this in my life.  I lost a student, a friend, a young man to a fight that didn't have to happen.

In Tyler's name, I ask that you put down your senseless fights.  It takes more strength and courage to not be part of something senseless.

Watching a video like Sharkeisha is hurtful to see.  What is worse though is all the hits such a video will get.  All the excitement that surrounds such a horrible event.  This girl is meaningless.  Her life is meaningless.  Her actions were senseless.  If a boy decides to wander in a relationship, guess what ... he made that choice.  What was she fighting for?  Why is that worth fighting for?

During this holiday season, take the time to think about your life, where you're going and what's really worth lifting your fists to defend.  Most times you'll find it's not worth it.

Grow Up College Students!!!!!

It's time for me to get on my soap box and rant about how pathetic some college students can be.  I know this isn't the time of year to be bitter, but please let me have my moment.  I promise I'll go back to  humming Christmas Carols after I let off this steam.

The video of University of Oregon Students having a snowball fight sickens me.  Too many "What Ifs" shoot through my brain.  These immature college kids had no idea who was in that car they pelted with snowballs.  They'd be the same kids crying to mommy or daddy if one of them was run over because the driver decided to hit the gas pedal instead of the brake.  Yes, part of me wishes the driver floored it to teach them a lesson, but I'm sure they would have just complained and cried tears of, "We were just having fun. "

So what really happened?  The poor man who got out of his car tried to get these losers to stop hitting cars.  He was trying to educate them about their character.  Be good people.  Don't throw things, yes even snowballs, at someone else's property.  Have your snowball fight with each other.  Blast each other with snowballs.  Make snow forts and have a good ol' fashion snowball fight.  But seriously, leave the innocents out of it.  I can only imagine if a woman with a stroller walked by, or an elderly woman or man with a walker.  I feel like these college jerks would be vicious enough to harm anyone without any remorse or concern.

My hope is college students are identified, they are prosecuted to the fullest degree of the law as hoodlums and reckless citizens.  I also hope it goes on their permanent record; maybe something that says, "I'm a complete idiot and enjoy being part of a mob."

Hold on, did I just type all of that?  Don't I remember what it was like to be young and carefree?  Didn't I engage in reckless activity like cannonballing into a soda machine one night or taking a shovel and damaging some streetlight bulbs?  Am I not the thief who abducted Christmas ornaments from a tree and also a stuffed bird?  Wasn't this me back in the day ..... possibly.
So let's say, I did all of the above in my "stupider" days.  Where would I be today if I had a permanent record showing my lack of care for the property of others?

The answer in these situations is never simple.  I respect the retired college professor who got pelted.  I respect that he is not pressing charges because he understands kids do stupid things in the heat of the fun.  He doesn't want to see futures damaged because of what was meant to be innocent recreation.  Still, an apology from each student and maybe even the consequence of having to shovel that retired professor's driveway, front porch, sidewalks and cleaning off his car after every snow storm this year would be a nice gesture in good character.

Ahhh,...I feel better already.  So here's a nice Christmas video that will calm you down.  Enjoy

2013 Soul Train Awards: Saaaayyyy Whaaaaaaaaaaattttttt??????

I grew up watching Soul Train with Don Cornelius.  I wasn't a diehard fan of it, but I'd flip between Soul Train for the dancing and Solid Gold for the Solid Gold Dancers.  This is well before MTV and VH-1, and at least a digital millennium or two before the internet even had pictures or videos.

Last night I tuned into the 2013 Soul Train Awards.  Last night, I felt like I was inflicting mental self-harm by not changing the channel.  It was painful to say the least.  Every artist I witnessed did a more heinous lip sync of their song than the next.  Ron Isley looked like a dude in a Kung-Fu movie where his mouth voiced the words three seconds after they were heard.  Somebody help me understand this.

Ron Isley

I can see if you are dancing, doing flips and performing with your body like Justin Timberlake, Britney Spears in her good days, or the late King of Pop MJ.  But c'mon old soul people!  All you have to do is either stand there or sway there and sing.  If you can't sing your songs anymore, get off the stage and hand it over to the DJ.  It's almost as embarrassing as Michael Bolton doing car commercials these days.

One of the saddest highlights of the night was when Warren G. hit the stage with his smash hit, "Regulate" from the 90s.  This duo with the late Nate Dogg, was my jam back in the day.  "Regulators ... mount up!"  Warren G.'s performance was like watching the first round of American Idol, and yes he   would not be welcome back the next week.

Warren G. today with Ron Isley

Warren G. back in the day

I'd Rather Have Nice Students than Smart Students

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=m5yCOSHeYn4

Most people think about education today, and they immediately jump to high stakes testing, Common Core and how we need to speed up, learn faster, learn more or else our students will not be college and career ready.  (taking a hiatus to regain my composure before I type something hostile...)

Pause .... rhythmic breathing ... pause ... in through the nose and out through the mouth breathing ....

Here's my take on education today:

Give me a room full of, oh let's say 30 students.  Go ahead tell me their data; give me their pretest scores, their state scores, their reading levels and all the past successes and failures they have experienced.  Throw their address on for good measure because doesn't living on a certain street dictate your mental capacity?  Put all of that on my desk.  I will do everything I can to bury it under stacks of student writing, stories we will read and other more important info, and I hope to uncover it around June 29th.

Don't get me wrong, my students will learn this year, and with the exception of my immediate family, they are the most important people in my life.  The reality is though, they will learn and as far as the books go, as far as the reading and writing, they will be ready for college and careers.  More important is getting them ready to be good people.

In the end, I want my students to be good, no great, no amazingly-stupendous- incredible-lift-you-on-their-shoulders type of people.  The ones you can depend on to brighten your day.  The ones who bring a smile and a kind word or two into a room with them.  The type of people who stand up for important values that the world appreciates regardless of religion or culture.  Values that transcend our differences and focus on what we have in common.  Yes, I want those students.  I want Honors Human Beings, not Honors English Students.  What's the point of having a big brain if you don't have a big heart?

What's the point of this one life you are blessed with if all you do is join the fast-paced rat race to gain more so you can just take more.  So many go through life blindly chasing that something, and we don't even know what that SOMETHING really is.  We just know it might put more money in our pockets.

In the end, I'd rather have nice students than smart students.  I'd rather have students who forgive, apologize and mean it, say excuse me (and not just when they burp or fart), say please and thank you, and even hold a door for another or find a nice thing to say to someone they don't have to say a thing to.  This is my wish and my hope.

Wrecking Rob Ford and Lovin' It

Now that I have your attention thanks to Rob Ford!!!!  I'm not sure what's worse, Rob Ford smoking crack, or me cracking up at the debacle of this politician.  Rob Ford has just surpassed the recently famous Tom Ford, who became more famous over the summer when featured in Jay-Z lyrics.  Yes, Rob Ford was the butt of all jokes on Saturday Night Live this past weekend, and will most likely be featured again this coming weekend.  How can you not be drawn to such pathetic behavior?  Don't get me wrong - I feel bad for the elderly woman there.  Thankfully she sprung back up on her feet and if you look closely, she even got a slap across Rob Ford's face.

Here is the original footage before "Wrecking Ball" was added.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NOCKrXNzEJ0

Holiday Spirit? Too Soon

I plan on cashing in on the holiday craze.  I am currently seeking financial backing to create purple and orange Halloween lights that with a click of a button turn into red and green Christmas lights.  Heck, why stop there?  Keep those lights up all year round and with another click they turn pink and yellow for Easter and give off a slight hologram of eggs.  But wait there's more.  Moving through the seasons, you get your red, white and blue for Memorial Day, 4th of July and if you're truly patriotic keep them on for Veteran's Day.  Just think of the time you can save with these amazing lights.  October 31st is all done and November 1st you're smiling as your neighbor is ruining a sacred weekend cleaning up the last holiday mess only to be pulling Christmas lights out of storage.  You'll be able to watch your favorite sporting event while your neighbor is cursing at the tangled lights he quickly put away last year, telling himself next year will be the one promises he gets more organized.  Of course, you'll take commercial breaks to enjoy the show he puts on for the whole neighborhood.

Yes, I plan on cashing in on America's inability to allow a lapse between holidays.  I'm 40 years old, so I can actually recollect a time when Halloween would end and Charlie Brown's Christmas Special wouldn't come on television until the week before Christmas.  I'm pretty sure it's now for sale as a two set DVD or Blu Ray with The Great Pumpkin.  What's happened to us?  Why are we so impatient?  Is it that we are so busy looking down at our technology, so busy on our iPhones, iPads, PS3, X-Box Live and other screens, that the moment we look up, we expect the next holiday to be ready to go?  It's times like these that I search for a small cabin in the woods, get some Jiffy Pop and throw in  a VCR tape of Back to the Future.  Sure, I'll have to adjust the screen where the tape gets all fuzzy, and yes, I'll have to actually get up to put that tape into the VCR instead of having a remote with On Demand.  I need a world that is willing to slow down and grow old with me, not one that is racing non-stop to a finish line that is actually the start to another race, that will turn into a marathon followed by a Warrior Dash, ending in a triathlon.  If you're looking for me, I'll be the guy untangling Christmas lights this coming weekend, but I'll have a smile on my face soaking in the holiday spirit.

My Journalism students = comment on this entry as part of your grade

Let's Get It Started My Students

Alright Journalism students, it's time to start our blogs.

Guidelines are simple: every week you must blog about a topic.  If you have that ailment known as Writer's Block, I will give you a prompt to help you get started.

PART I:
For your first blog, I would like you to give me a summary of everything you have soaked up that we have discussed in class.  What have your learned about Journalism?  Give me some jargon (special wording journalists should know), tell me the important aspects to a story, what makes a strong lead, and so much more you can hopefully tell me.

PART II:  Get your blog going.  Here's mine:
 The autobiography Decoded by Jay - Z is one of my favorite reads of all time.  Jay - Z takes you behind the scenes of his childhood and into the start up of his hip hop fame all the while placing images and lyrics with footnotes throughout the book.  What I love most is what Jay-Z says about writing and the power of adding layers to your work.  To me, this is the beauty and power of strong lyrics.  It's when the artist says one thing, but there can be three different meanings going on, so listeners can hear the lyrics on different levels.  To me, this is art.

Here are some great quotes from Jay-Z's autobiography:

Decoded Quotes

Decoded by Jay-Z

“We change people through conversation, not through censorship.”

“A poet's mission is to make words do more work than they normally do, to make them work on more than one level.” 

“Identity is a prison you can never escape, but the way to redeem your past is not to run from it, but to try to understand it, and use it as a foundation to grow.” 

“I believe you can speak things into existence.” 

“Artists can have greater access to reality; they can see patterns and details and connections that other people, distracted by the blur of life, might miss. Just sharing that truth can be a very powerful thing.”

“Hip-hop has always been controversial, and for good reason. When you watch a children's show and they've got a muppet rapping about the alphabet, it's cool, but it's not really hip-hop. The music is meant to be provocative - which doesn't mean it's necessarily obnoxious, but it is (mostly) confrontational, and more than that, it's dense with multiple meanings. Great rap should have all kinds of unresolved layers that you don't necessarily figure out the first time you listen to it. Instead it plants dissonance in your head. You can enjoy a song that knocks in the club or has witty punch lines the first time you hear it. But great rap retains mystery. It leaves shit rattling around in your head that won't make sense till the fifth or sixth time through. It challenges you.

Which is the other reason hip-hop is controversial: People don't bother trying to get it. The problem isn't in the rap or the rapper or the culture. The problem is that so many people don't even know how to listen to the music.”

“This is why we shouldn't be afraid. There are two possibilities: One is that there's more to life than the physical life, that our souls "will find an even higher place to dwell" when this life is over. If that's true, there's no reason to fear failure or death. The other possibility is that this life is all there is. And if that's true, then we have to really live it - we have to take it for everything it has and "die enormous" instead of "living dormant," as I said way back on "Can I Live." Either way, fear is a waste of time.”

“Hip-hop is a perfect mix between poetry and boxing.” 

“[T]he truth is you don't need some external demon to take control of you to turn you into a raging, money-obsessed sociopath, you only need to let loose the demons you already have inside of you.” 

“I couldn't even think about wanting to be something else; I wouldn't let myself visualize another life. But I wrote because I couldn't stop. It was a release, a mental exercise, a way of keeping sane.”