Monday, Oct. 11, 2004
Things I did today..., posted at 9:38 p.m.
Epiphany in Baltimore has moved to epiphanyinbaltimore.blogspot.com Today, I...... hit into the first triple-play ever in my twenty year career playing baseball, softball, and, now, wiffleball. Line drive to third, and the third baseman steps on third and then throws to first. Talk about a rally-killer.
... got into an argument with co-workers that I'm still a little ruffled about. They think we should kick out our bottom 200 kids and make the school more elite. I disagree completely. Which is better for the city? Which is better for the world? Why am I still an optimist when someone who has worked here six weeks is a cynic?
... had a great day teaching. It was one of those days when it was completely apparent that my kids were learning at an astounding pace. I think I even saw the lightbulbs go on over there heads. Very inspiring day. At one point, a kid had wrote a sentence like, "As you can see, this quote explains the main point I was trying to make..." It was completely middle-schoolish because he was telling, not showing. I asked him if he had ever seen The Wizard of Oz. He said yes. I told him that he's like the man behind the curtain. I don't want to see what's going on back there, I just want to see the impressive results. It was completely off the top of my head, but it worked. And he laughed.
... caught Nelly's song "Home" at two different times and turned it up really loud both times, and now it's clear to me that I want Suit to go along with Sweat.
... listened to a lot of Ricky Fante, an artist whose CD I came across in Barnes & Noble. A couple listens at the listening station twice in two days prompted me to buy it on a whim, without research, something I never do. I am not disappointed... wow. Old school soul. Go to the link and his single plays automatically; it's a good one, and the CD is even better. He has been able to wrestle control of my CD player from the hands of Jill Scott and Ray LaMontagne.
... made it to the gym but had to cut my workout short by ten minutes because I had forgotten my assignments I had printed out at home. Oh well. Still had a great workout.
... am very tired. Need some sleep. To bed before ten on a night when I had a wiffleball game and then an hour and a half at the bar, though - that's an accomplishment.
... laughed out loud at this: 
... was astonished by this. You know, I had heard about this bulge thing, and thought it was just some sort of conspiracy, but looking at the picture was pretty mind-blowing. It really looks like one. The evidence is certainly not conclusive - far from it - but it's intriguing. And, again, I'm shocked at the way the media handles this administration. Kid gloves, I tell ya. Not that I really care if he was using an electronic feed, mind you. I imagine giving a debate is a tough thing and it's not that big of a deal to me that he's getting some help. I mean, we all know he's as manufactured a candidate as they come. So it's not that big of a deal to me; newscasters use teleprompters, after all. Plus, I hear Bush is dyslexic. But I'm thinking that many of his supporters would hate it. And I don't know why mainstream media doesn't touch that sort of thing.
... Found another interesting link is this - a side-by-side comparison of Bush debating ten years ago and then two weeks ago. It's really striking. He sounds thoughtful and confident, and has none of the arrogance he displays now. You could see how someone could really like him as a candidate. By the way, I hate to say it, but I'm getting optimistic about the election. I now think Kerry is going to pull it off, although I think quite a bit rides on this third debate.