Have we seriously come to this?

When I was young and started school, Kindergarten was a wonderful thing. I remember my teacher, Ms. Heagney (Jay, help me out with the spelling here), being the most fabulous person in the world. She really was the quinticential kindergarten teacher, with the patient, soothing voice, always making people feel smart and making learning fun. Kindergarten was a place where you learned for a little and played for a little, where creativity was encouraged and learning was supposed to be fun. We learned to read and write and count. We learned to share, to resolve arguments, to make friends and develop social skills. We played dress-up. We painted (I always looked forward to my day at the paints). We pretended. We used our imaginations.

Why am I talking about this? Because reading this article disturbed me. When did we get to the point that children need to do math drills at 5 years old? Why would we want to? Now, I don't have kids yet, and I understand that this is a competitive world. But why start this type of thing at 4 or 5 years old? This is the time in children's lives when they are the most fertile in their imaginations, in their sense of fun and play.

More and more, while I'm out, I see children who have absolutely no sense of proper behaviour in public. They don't know how to act around strangers. They don't know how to use their "inside" voice. They throw tantrums. And maybe I'm stretching, but I think part of this has to do with the fact that so much of everything else is structured, they don't know what to do at unstructured times. That's the type of thing that kindergarten is supposed to teach. Fair play, that you don't always get what you want, that you sometimes need to be patient for your turn, that you can occupy your free (play) time with wonderful things going on in your head instead of making a ruckus, that when free time is over, you need to be quiet. If this time is taken up with sitting and doing math drills and reading comprehension worksheets, what's left?

There is so much placed on fulfilling the numbers and quotas that we end up raising little robots. Robots who are ready to explode at any moment. Children should not be bored in school at such a young age. If they get that sense at 5, there is no hope for the future.

Drink more coffee

It's good for you. I happen to love coffee. Not for the caffeine, really, as I don't drink it everyday. I just love the taste of coffee. I will occassionally patronize a Starbucks, as there are really no independent coffee shops near work. I will not drink their drip coffee, however, as it just tastes like bitters. So I usually cough up a few bucks for a mocha or something to that effect (Frappuccinos, I have to admit, are really tasty, but that could be because of all the sugar). There is a bit of ridiculousness as to the preponderance of Starbucks in this country. Anyway, this is not a Starbucks rant - there are plenty of websites out there for that.

Back to the point - I really like coffee. For the taste. So I generally search out good coffee, if at all possible. In the northeast, the mecca for good and relatively cheap coffee is Dunkin Donuts. Love Dunkin. And they have been known more for their coffee than their doughnuts for a very long time. In their expansion across the US, rather than compete with the ubiquitously good Krispy Kreme for king of the doughnut kingdom, Dunkin is marketing their coffee - a good move, I think.

I spent much of my last year in grad school, typing my thesis at Evergreen Cafe, fueled by excellent coffee and free WiFi. Why would I go anywhere else when there's internet and free refills all day long (for $1.50 - try to find that anywhere else). The thing is, I really miss is that kind of place. The cafe where you can sit for hours on end, nursing a coffee and cookie, reading and just relaxing. I haven't really found a place that even comes close since moving down here. And as a result, my coffee consumption has dropped.

I need to find a place like that around here. There are coffee shops here and there, but they are usually a part of the strip-mall culture that reigns in these parts. It takes away the allure a bit. *Sigh* I need a place with good coffee, comfy couches, cool music and interesting people to watch. The search goes on.

Dreaming of Puerto Rico

I. Want. To. Go.

Blogging about blogging

I have to agree with CawfeeBoy about these particular observations about blogs. The rare time I hit the "next blog" button up there in the right hand corner, I am confronted with some lame ass piece of crap, wrought with cheesy music or written in another language. So I don't generally hit the "next blog" button. But again, I hope that my blog is not half as bad as what I've seen out there.

So it was interesting when I came across this article. I, like the "about half" of the people who responded to this particular survey, blog for myself and my close friends and family. I don't think there are all that many people I don't know who read this thing. And I'm fine with that. I'm not out there to make a statement. I just think it's more fun to put the crap in my brain out there rather than writing mass e-mails when I feel like having a braindump.

I get to vent. I get to be silly. I get to write about whatever the hell is on my mind - however inane. I get to show everyone that I am indeed Supergirl. And whomever chooses to read will and all others will pass it by. And I love the occasional comments.

But the reason I started it all was actually really simple. Way back when, Blogger required that you register for a blog in order to make comments. So, I figured, as long as I was registered for one, I may as well use it.

You asked CawfeeBoy

You wanted to know which superhero? Here's my answer:

Your results:
You are Supergirl

Supergirl 75% Superman 70% The Flash 65% Spider-Man 60% Wonder Woman 60% Iron Man 55% Robin 52% Batman 50% Hulk 50% Green Lantern 45% Catwoman 25%

Lean, muscular and feminine. Honest and a defender of the innocent.

Click here to take the Superhero Personality Quiz


All right, the HTML is screwed up and I can't fix it. We'll all have to deal.

Hell hath no fury...

What happens when a woman finds out her husband is cheating on her with her best friend? This happens.

Update: I'm disappointed, because I was hoping that this woman had really big balls. Unfortunately, it looks like some sort of add campaign for Court TV.

Killer kangaroos and the demon duck of doom

Seriously. Sometimes, it's not even necessary to make up headlines.

Going to hell... and laughing along the way

A while back, I mentioned my new little addiction, the Blogging the Bible project on Slate.com. First, the shit's funny. Second, I love that the person writing it is named David Plotz. Seriously. Plotz. He's finished with Genesis and Exodus - great bits of reading, and has moved onto Leviticus.

You know when someone is a good writer when he can summarize the book of Leviticus, which he calls "a confusing swirl of baffling practices, peculiar laws, and ornate rituals," into something truly entertaining to read. My favorite part today?

Leviticus interrupts these dire leprous warnings to reassure men that, yes, it's OK to be bald. "If a man loses the hair of his head and becomes bald, he is pure." And it gets better! God also approves of male-pattern baldness. "If he loses the hair on the front part of his head and becomes bald at the forehead, he is pure." So throw out that Rogaine! God loves a cue-ball, baby!

Tellin' ya, this shit's funny. Makes you look at the bible in a whole new way.

It's Friday

And I want to see Pirates! I have been very much looking forward to the new Pirates of the Caribbean movie, and it's finally here. I really loved the first one - even though I went into it not really expecting anything. It's now one of my favorite movies, and the movie that brought Johnny Depp clearly back into my sphere of awareness. It's amazing to me that his Captain Jack character, with the swarthy tone, ambiguous sexuality, and overall sloshiness could be so damn sexy. But he is, and I'm so looking forward to more. I hope I'm not disappointed.

Time warped

Okay, I'm all disoriented today. Long weekend (with visit from MS, which was fab). Yesterday I worked at home (and I DID work, and got lots done too). We went out to see Spamalot last night, so it felt like Friday night (highly recommend it). And today is my first day actually in the office since Friday, so I feel like it's Monday. So then, it's Friday again tomorrow - which is great. But I'm all out of whack - it's all confusing, and a lot of people are still away, so the office is still quite empty. I'm sure I'll be better after the weekend.