Personality ??

I'm not quite sure if I agree with the full results of this "personality" test. It did, however, make me say "really?..." It's the "judging" part with which I'm a little uncomfortable. Perhaps that is the teacher component in me. But hey, with my new job and new life starting, that may change considerably.



According to the test survey, INTJs are "introspective, analytical, determined persons with natural leadership ability. Being reserved, they prefer to stay in the background while leading. Strategic, knowledgeable and adaptable, INTJs are talented in bringing ideas from conception to reality. They expect perfection from themselves as well as others and are comfortable with the leadership of another so long as they are competent. INTJs can also be described as decisive, open-minded, self-confident, attentive, theoretical and pragmatic....by nature, INTJs are independent individualists." Thomas Jefferson, Jane Austen, and Susan B. Anthony were INTJs, as were the fictional Hannibal Lecter, Fitzwilliam Darcy, and Gandalf. Acceptable.

Creepy Reading !

Jack Gantos is way over the top in the “creepy” category with his book The Love Curse of the Rumbaughs. Part Ed Gein-revisited, part Hitler-esque eugenics, part overly-zealous familial bonding, this book gave me nightmares, and I don’t scare that easily. It was the casual style of narration and characterization about the darkest sides of the nature vs. nurture debate that freaked me out. But then, that is what made the book so good and unique. It pushed my boundaries and challenged me in my thinking. I wouldn’t hand it over to anyone younger than high school frosh or sophomores.

Explaining Copyright

This video is simply fabulous. Enjoy!

They're Your Children, Too!

This Op-Ed piece in the NY Times broke my heart. How is it that our society, culture, government, neighborhoods, schools--all of us--can turn our backs on this domestic war on our children? We are happy with our fancy cars, dvd players, cell phones, computers, manicures, dinners out, etc. How do we sleep at night? I am as complicit as the next as I take the time to write this rather than working with a child. I do work my butt off in the classroom and in the library to help children develop the skills needed for life-saving opportunities that may come their way, but the opportunities must come their way. And, they must literally survive their childhood (physically and mentally) to reach those open doors. Where is the business world in all of this? They are the ones with the money. Are they truly sans ethics? Where is the government? (We know they are usually sans ethics.) Where is the little guy organization making it possible? Hmmm, watching the body count from Iraq? I have no answers about this today. I only have sadness. Those lost children will be missed. Consider the poetry, the laughter, the scientific breakthroughs, the financial theories, . . . , the love they will never be able to offer the rest of us. Yes, just sadness.

Prime Vacation Cabin

If only I had about 135 million to spare.....

Of course, one would have to clean all of those rooms, maintain the gardens, and keep the demons in check, not to mention be nice to all the tourists. Yet, something lingers in the appeal of this get-away-villa . . . .