Right Wing Propaganda vs the Right to Education

Editorial in the New York Times rightly criticizing the right wing attacks on our President's addressing the issue of education.
I wonder if this is more of this excess parental hovering--the attitude and behavior that keeps children overscheduled not playing creatively enough--an attitude that will ultimately lower a child's ability to use their mind nimbly enough to learn how to judge information critically.

You want parents to be able to guide their children, but to guide them into not listening to OUR president, whom we elected hands down, no hanging chads about it! That is outrageous.

I want to call on all thinking, reading, examining people to encourage their children, their nieces and nephews to listen to President Obama. Then if you don't like what he's saying, go ahead and disagree, thoughtfully and not by namecalling or stereotyping.

Nile Online

Nile Online is what I'm addicted to lately, what is taking up all my free time.
My excuse is that it helps me learn about resource allocation, but that's just bull. It's a fun way to spend a few hours or 24.
I trade with my fellow Nile players for resources and worry about whether my monument's safe from bullies and check to see how close I am to immortality.

It's fun in a way to trade resources you don't really have. In Sabah, the test-server for Nile Online, I have immense riches, amounts of material I never thought I'd ever have. Hey, anyone need 20k jewelry for 20k sandals? But in Theoris, the non-test server, I'm just an ordinary playah, with a modicum of material. Still I notice, I'm top of the heap in temple donations. In this economy, it's a pretty cheap way to feel rich.

I was really gung-ho about this game earlier this year. Now, not so much. And it's not like the cities are full of personalities like a Sim City or something. If I let the cities go, the people starve, soldiers dessert and the buildings look like crap. A friend of mine told me that "you need to have something fun in your life," since life is not providing the fun the way it used to. These are tough times and my job at the library seems tougher and much less fun than it ever has.

So here's to Nile Online and harmless geekiness.

Stand By Me

I won, now what? Forward Motion!

I won with a slim 50,132 words. This year's story was difficult, because I was trying to make it contemporary fiction rather than all-fantasy.

So reworking it will be a challenge and I've wondered how to go about it. Forward Motion is a writing community. There are classes and challenges. That's one thought.
The other thought is finding a group here, or enrolling in a course.

But do I have what it takes to enter an MFA program for creative writing. Could I do it the way I did library school? Part-time squeezing classes in with family and work obligations? And then what about work obligations? Sometimes work is very demanding.

Right now, for instance. But I'll say no more and get back to work.

NaNoWrimo 2008

Dang. It's Chick Lit this year.

The working title of this year's NaNo novel is What a Difference a Dave Makes or The No Sugar Added Romance of Carmela Elias.

It's not as frothy as it sounds. Right now it's kind of dark and I have no idea if anyone, but the aforementioned Dave will open up a store and save his life thereby.

It's never too late to join the madness that is National Novel Writing Month.

Please join in the fun and write the great novel you've been dreaming about for ever.

Transformation

I give thanks I've lived to see the day when we have our first African-American President.
I am grateful for the power of change.

Middle Name

Obama supporters are adopting Hussein as a middle name, at least informally on places like Facebook.

Now I'm an Obama supporter, but I've never had a middle name. I don't want one now. Is this something like wearing a flag pin? Will I be considered "un-patriotic" if I don't call myself Eri Hussein? You get my drift.

I think it's cute and a cool way for people to recognize each other. A not-so-secret handshake, if you will. That said, I will not add Hussein as a middle name, just for people to recognize me. I think it may be a little insulting to those who are named Hussein by their parents in honor of a relative. According to this article in the NY Times, from way back in June, Obama doesn't mind.
I hope he doesn't mind that I'm not adding a middle name. I like my name the way it is.

Grieving at Work

It's a rainy, gray, cool day. I had the day off from work and I realize I'm grieving.
My boss is leaving.
I think workplaces don't allow time or space for grieving the changes and loss that come with daily life.

We're supposed to embrace change. Change very often brings loss: a colleague moves up, a supervisor moves away. Often there's a domino effect. A space is opened and another colleague moves into it. That leaves yet another space somewhere. How is any organization supposed to function with such shifts in personnel?

Or perhaps the shifts in personnel lead to new dynamics in the workplace. It's not the same-old same-old anymore. Perhaps a new boss has an agenda that differs from what the old boss had. Perhaps that agenda means everybody get out of your comfort zone!

Peter Hutchinson brings up the Kübler-Ross model for dealing with loss. One of his suggestions in dealing with the Depression Stage is to "provide vision, a picture of the new normal."

I think very often supervisors try, but are not very successful in providing this in a way employees can take to heart. When grief is very deep, the catch phrases of an organizations vision or mission statement can seem hollow.

After all, if they meant something, so & so might not be leaving. Or such & such a decision might not have been made so quickly. If only life in the workplace were more thought fully measured and if only we had the kind of support we might have in our homes, with our friends and families to get our backs.