How Wonderful :)

Found here.

YOU ARE AWESOME + guest post.

Hi, Sunday-night-of-a-long-weekend. Snuggle in. I thought this was the perfect opportunity to share some stories resulting from the project that called YOU-ARE-AWESOME. The YOU-ARE-AWESOME project started in January 2009 with some bright + simple customizable posters designed with the intention of creating a positive impact and affirmation. When you see your name in print - it feels good. Whether you are just born, in highschool (I'll get to that) or a real-live-adult - it touches you somehow and gives you permission to believe it. You can find out more about the posters here. YOU CAN ORDER THEM HERE. And the YOU-ARE-AWESOME mini print set here. I've been enjoying these posters for so many reasons - but, the absolute best thing about them is the ripple effect I see when a poster is created. I know this is not rocket-science or ground-breaking-news... but, I fully and completely think that if something inspires goodness in someone - then it's BETTER than science or broken ground. IT'S A WEE BIT O' MAGIC. Like this...


So cool. I love seeing the names and YOU-ARE adjectives. There are so many wonderful stories about why you chose certain words and I seriously love it all. There are SO MANY great names out there, too. And so many requests for special YOU-ARE phrases. Here are some of my favourites...
Amazing stuff. I love when ideas evolve. I loved this teacher's idea so much - I asked her to write a little guest post...

Some days the duty of being a high school teacher is an unforgiving and thankless job. Some days the smallest most unexpected gesture makes me realize how much I like my job. In the back of my mind I have this crazy idea that all students arrive happy, excited and intrigued to learn.  Eager to fill their brain with knowledge, anxious to explore and motivated to succeed.  I keep forgetting that many students arrive dejected, fearful of failure and preoccupied with other problems.  Fitting in is hard.  Peer pressure is real.

I believe attitude is contagious. I believe an unwritten part of my job is to model a positive attitude (I actually believe this is part of everyone's job).  During the last few months of my maternity leave, while planning for my return to work, I tossed an idea out to some colleagues.  My idea involved using Kal's custom YOU-ARE-AWESOME posters.  I was setting a personal goal to pay attention to positive student behaviour and reward at least one student per week until the end of the year with a custom poster.  Most of my colleagues smiled and threw a negative slap my way by commenting that I probably wouldn't be able to find enough students.  I almost threw out the idea.  For some reason I kept believing that a positive attitude is just as contagious as a negative attitude.  I was bit apprehensive that because I teach high school.  Teenagers trying to be cool, trying to fit in, trying to distance themselves from being a "teacher's pet".  It didn't take long before I received some feedback.  One student response was, "when can I take my poster home?".  Another student response was, "can you get more than one?".  Another student response was, "I'm going to try for Meghan You Are Mighty".

This is the 11th week of my "Project YOU-ARE-AWESOME" and here's a sample of what students had to say about it.

"It makes kids feel special to see their name on the poster.  It is also good to see the people that get recognized for a good thing that they have done." ~ Amy P.

"I think project YOU-ARE-AWESOME is a valuable reminder to people that they are being noticed for everything they do.  Even though people probably wouldn't admit it, they would likely feel good that they were recognized by another person for doing something helpful, and they would also be more likely to notice and comments on the good things that other people do.  Keep up the good work!"

"I think that Project YOU-ARE-AWESOME is a lot better than the other projects we have for recognition in our school.  Knowing that your name is on a poster makes you feel included." ~ Steph P.

"I like the bright colours but think there could be more colours like pink or other themes.  They are very personalized and make you feel like it is just for you.  The words pop out and look nice.  They are fun and make you want to do something good." ~ Kim B.

"It might give people a much needed boost to be told they are awesome!"

"I would really like to be in the YOU-ARE-AWESOME Project"

Has Project YOU-ARE-AWESOME had a positive impact in my classroom?  Absolutely. Students are often asking when I will be adding new posters to the wall.  There is something infectious about the "YOU-ARE-AWESOME" posters.  It must be some psychological mind game to see your name in print with a positive adjective.  It feels good.  Students appreciate being recognized, without blowing things out of proportion or having them stand in front of the entire student body and risk public humiliation for being or doing good.  Last but not least, students earn "YOU-ARE-AWESOME" posters for more than just high marks or perfect test scores.  It's not all about being perfect ... everyone has the ability to do something good.

Amen. I thought that was particularly cool. I also thought these were amazing emails to receive...

"Hi Kal. I just wanted to let you know that it was my 47th birthday today and a my daughter had you make a poster that she gave me this evening. Perhaps I should preface this by saying that I am a senior partner in a law firm in San Antonio and I am the last person who might admit that it was quite a moment to see my name next to the words You Are Loved and Admired. We have had a challenging relationship since her mother and I divorced - so the words were very meaningful to me. The poster will go in my office where I will see it everday. Thank you for this incredible gift. ~Michael" 

"Dear Kal. When I came home from school today my mom put my poster in my room and it made me feel proud because it said I am incredible. That is cool. I like the monkey. ~Logan"

"Hello Kal!! I wanted to let you know that my sister loves the poster you did for her. She's been feeling low and this was the perfect way for us to remind her that she is an amazing person. ~Meghan"

To Dan and Kal - thank you for the posters! They arrived today and they are even nicer than I expected! Thank you for shipping all the way to New Zealand ~Kiri" 

Cool. Very cool.
It's not too late to get your own YOU-ARE-AWESOME poster.  Order them here.
Today: well, it's actually late at night and I'm going to get some rest before a busy holiday Monday around these parts. Life is good. Actually - it's awesome.
GO!

Super Anti-Glee Article

Minorly bat shit insane. I got a few good laughs from some of it.
Highlighted 'em in purple.

It's so disgusting to think that people are filled with such hate. So sad.

http://christwire.org/2010/01/what-every-parent-should-know-about-the-tv-show-glee/

An innocuous little show popped up on America’s tv screens late last year. Its name is “Glee” and it’s full of vibrant teens dealing with the gentle challenges of high school life. These are fresh-faced kids, hard working and motivated, who can break into song at the drop of a sweaty football. But is there more to this sugary pop of a series? Should parents be concerned about any subtext of adult themes and situations? What makes this show so popular?

An in-depth analysis of Glee will certainly raise the eyebrows of parents across America. It contains a surprising number of mature scenarios– from pre-marital sex to drug use, from adultery to abortion, from premature ejaculation to explicit homosexual experimentation. Glee goes out of its way to appear wholesome at first glance. The first 15 minutes of every episode is quite polite and that’s part of its success. It is colorful and cheerful with a scent of innocence. The message it seems to send is that teens should stay in school and aim for college. Yet beyond that (once the adults in the room tune out), it descends into a much darker place.
The Parents Television Council warns that Glee contains, “gratuitous sex, explicit dialogue, violent content, and obscene language. It is completely unsuitable for children.” This is reason enough parents should be tuning their teens out of Glee. But I would go even further– the ethical and social risks that Glee poses are so severe that it is unworthy of a home on a national network and should be removed from broadcast. I sincerely believe that no person or organization should continue to finance this show.

SEXUALITY, SPORTS AND SHOWTUNES

To understand the dangerous implications of this poorly conceived series, let me start with the characters. They are just not believable. All the women students look to be in their late 20s or early 30s in real life. The teachers aren’t the suffering and hardened types you’ll find in real American public schools. This rosy little place of Glee is devoid of gun violence, sexting, drug dealing, suicide and larger questions of faith.

Instead of a real world high school, we have a fantasyland of happy, shirtless teens hanging out in the showers or dancing on million dollar stages. Why must the producers of this show have so many shots of the football team in the locker room? They’re constantly dropping their shorts and jumping into a steamy shower, showing off tight biceps or lathering themselves all over with a fresh bar of soap. Is this some crafty attempt to appeal to the homosexual segment of the show’s audience? Is it really appropriate for today’s male teens to let this sort of softcore utopia influence them?

Additionally, the show has far too many musical numbers. From R&B hits to showtunes to classic rock & roll, the boys and girls of Glee really can put on a performance. But it’s not convincing on that million-dollar stage. They come across as trying too hard with their exaggerated facial expressions and hip posturings, the soaring voices ranges. They’ve clearly been coached. The singing is just too finely polished. The dance numbers are too excruciatingly choreographed. No high school kids can put on these sorts of shows at the spur of a moment. These things require years of gut-wrenching training.

Ultimately, these ad hoc songfests give children a very false impression about talent and success. They are led to believe if they just spin around and shout, they’re creating world-class music. They are led to believe we live in a world where anybody and everybody can succeed as long as they have heart. But this is far from true. Some people are born with the vocal chords for music, others have the bodies for football and others have the brains for math. That is reality. But this show is a drug of false expectations that will inevitably harm our children. It convinces impressionable teens to avoid serious career training in favor of having “fun” in the “arts.” Also, the music numbers just drag down the plot of the show.
On a related note, Glee’s actors constantly make the argument that excelling at athletics does not contribute anything to the college application process. They posit the theory that a singing club will make you more likely to get into Ohio State or Princeton. This is false and it’s reckless for the creators of this show to promote such disinformation. Athletics have been a proven stepping-stone for academic and business success for over a century. The number of athletes who have gone on to full scholarships at the very best universities in this country are legion and legendary. Nothing even close could be said of a minor high school singing club. If children take this belief to heart, it could wind up seriously hurting their chances of college survival as well as their health (sports are essential for keeping fit, strong and attractive!).
Another major fault with the show is its fawning celebration of teenage homosexuality and consumer indulgence. Again the show makes the case that accepting the gay lifestyle and making yourself as outrageous as possible will help you achieve something despite whatever social limitations you may have. Disregarding any sense of fair play, the show does not offer any alternative to the gay lifestyle argument. There are no teens cured of their relentless and wild male sex desires, there are no moral figures on hand to give a comforting hand, there are no popular boys who say, “I don’t want to hurt my family anymore and I love Jesus, so I am going to stop doing gay things with guys in the bathroom.”


THE GOLDEN GIRLS CONNECTION

Recently, I wrote about studies that revealed the dangerous influence that the 1980s tv show “The Golden Girls” had on American men now in their 30s, 40s and 50s (see “The Golden Girls: How One TV Show Turned A Generation Of American Boys Into Homosexuals”). The link between watching the Girls and increased risks of homosexual behavior was made abundantly meaningful. In a nutshell, the Golden Girls turned a generation away from procreation. It made our American boys into the most raunchy, campy, carnal people on the planet. If, as a society, we could have returned to the 80s with what we know now and stop that show, American culture might be drastically different today.

As I write about Glee now in 2010, I can’t help but think that America is on the threshold of another dramatic cultural shift. If we let this show continue, our children will find a way to watch it. It is a drug that is that addictive. If our children continue to watch, they will undoubtedly be influenced by its radical same-sex messages. A generation from now, when these children become adults, what kind of country will the United States be? How many middle-aged men will find themselves in a dead-end Glee-based lifestyle? Will they be ostentatious and sensitive, their dreams smashed up against a wall crying out to have that giant hole in their souls stuffed with some musky foreign thrill? Will they be violating what’s left of our traditional cultural landscape with unimaginable high-tech perversions, drenching, nay drowing the bright young men of tomorrow in their relentless sauces of net porn and showtunes, maximized liberties and stem-cell party drugs? Will male sports just become an excuse for gay locker room orgies? How long until these types also legislate to destroy the beauty of marriage, the safety of religion, the rights of the righteous? Look into the eyes of a young Kurt Hummel. Is that not the face our of future’s polymorphously perverse intellectual terrorist? Change the channel my friends. Change the channel and change the world!

PARENT’S GUIDE TO THE CAST OF GLEE

• Football Player Finn: An implausible character who goes both ways– glee club geek and handsome football star. He reminds one of the old lady Sophia on The Golden Girls– a bit of a cute, befuddled sidekick with some comic lines, but not a central character in the best scenes on the show. I truly feel for the actor who performs this poorly-written role, though I do enjoy his deft moves on the football field.
• Sue the Cheerleading Coach: Her acting comes across as pretentious and egomaniacal and possibly too masculine (is this intentional?). Tone it down a bit, that’s my advice. Bea Arthur of The Golden Girls has already done everything and anything you could possibly imagine doing in your career, Sue.
• Jewish Rachel: This girl is beautiful (and 30). I don’t understand why she’s playing like she’s ugly and unpopular! When gay people write tv dramas they often have no clue about what real women are like.
• Artie, Wheelchair: I don’t believe he sings. The lip-synching is frighteningly obvious and a sad footnote to this show. Couldn’t they have gotten an actual talented singer for this role? Plus, he needs a sidekick or a funny catchphrase.
• Mercedes Jones: Her sassy attitude does not set the right example for today’s young girls. She does sing well, and I appreciate that but I really don’t think this show is the right fit for her career. She really sticks out like a sore thumb. I could see her in a church choir, however. Or maybe play the wheelchair role?
• Quinn, Slutty Cheerleader: She is most definitely the “Blanche Devereaux” of Glee.
• Gay Kurt Hummel: I am afraid the makers of this show have dangerously indulged this young man’s fetish for expensive outfits. Children watching may be tempted to experiment with similar radical wardrobe choices. Why is everything he wears so bright and tight? Are we supposed to guess at the source of his income for such extravagance? Why did he quit football team? Will the writers of this show actually force him to do an on-air homosexual kiss or even worse? Sadly, with his clothing obsession and sassy attitude, Kurt Hummel may be destined to become this generation’s Betty White.
• Football Coach: Is it really necessary to have a man his age in such small shorts so often? Is this supposed to be funny?
• Will Schuster, Head of Glee Club: This effeminate charlatan is a surprising choice for the horndog adulterer. For many adults, he is not convincing in the least. Personally, I do not believe in having homosexual educators (or adult actors, for that matter) in such intimate, private contact with young people. Please, we do not need to see any more half-hearted and frankly laughable sex scenes involving this wet noodle.
• Victor Matlin: I really don’t know why he is on this show. He was in Titanic! I find the hugging with his son unseemly.

I Really Like This...

Ganked from Frankie's Tumblr.

It’s the details that I can’t get enough of. It’s the difference in the sizes of our hands; your fingers and knuckles make mine look like twigs. It’s the way I have to tilt my head back and look up at you to say, “Bitch.” It’s the way you could crush me if you hugged me just a little too hard. It’s just a fetish for that one place I can unabashedly confess, “I’m fragile,” in a world where I have to know, have to believe, and have to yell, “I’m unbreakable.”

Lots of Links, Lots of Music

http://www.8notes.com/scores/9544.asp?ftype=gif
http://www.8notes.com/scores/2531.asp?ftype=gif
http://www.8notes.com/scores/2793.asp?ftype=gif
http://www.8notes.com/scores/7133.asp?ftype=gif
http://www.8notes.com/scores/2741.asp?ftype=gif
http://www.8notes.com/scores/9953.asp?ftype=gif
http://www.8notes.com/scores/9980.asp?ftype=gif
http://www.8notes.com/scores/10010.asp?ftype=gif
http://www.8notes.com/scores/7383.asp?ftype=gif
http://www.8notes.com/scores/10194.asp?ftype=gif
http://www.8notes.com/scores/10083.asp?ftype=gif
http://www.8notes.com/scores/10084.asp?ftype=gif
http://www.8notes.com/scores/9899.asp?ftype=gif
http://www.8notes.com/scores/10637.asp?ftype=gif

Fuck Yeah Ellen.

This is important.

Please watch it.

Long live Ellen!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Br7nbQSIyhg

Intense...

Onion Article: There Was Definitely A Point During That Stoning Where We All Thought, 'Is This Weird?'

http://www.theonion.com/articles/there-was-definitely-a-point-during-that-stoning-w,18165/

Mooski #10 Bliss - Muse

HOLY SHIT ON A STICK THERE IS NO MUSE IN MY MOOSKI THINGGER-NESS

Well, there's a reason behind that...

I like to post the actual music videos... but whatever.

This song is so good, it doesn't matter!

One of my favorites from them, which says something... 'cause I love ALL of their stuff ha!



Actual video here. It's pretty neat! (And by neat I mean Bellalicious XD!)

WHAT IS THIS GAME?!

The "That's What She Said," it is so intense.

http://www.dorkly.com/video/2956/most-sexual-innuendos-ever?ref=nf

Cats in Ikea!

http://www.tonic.com/article/100-cats-ikea-happiness/

Funny Finds on highDEAS

Found this site lookin' through Facebook. Ahhh, Santa Cruz.

http://highdeas.com/

It's basically MLIA for stoners.

But some of this stuff is hellllaa funny!

Here's some highLIGHTS (with some edits for grammar)
lolpuns

• "I woke up, smoked, made a cake, smoked, did some yard work, and then smoked. So I: wake, bake, bake cake, bake, rake, then bake."
• "You know how, if you get a fatal disease, the government allows you to smoke to get through the horrible pain of dying? What if when you were among the biggest losers on the planet? Do you think the government should allow you to toke up to deal with the horrible pain of failure?"
• "Count Chocula - he makes a dank-ass chocolate milk at the end of the bowl."
• "Anyone else make music in their heads sometimes? Like your own little mind band? When we can turn our head music into actual music there is going to be some fucking cool music."
• "Tonight at rugby practice, I broke my nose and it's already outrageously swollen. Unfortunately for me, I just used all my ice for my bong. I still made the right decision."
• "Drunk people blow through stop signs. High people wait for them to turn green."
• "If Johnny Bravo were still around he would totally be on Jersey Shore hittin' up Snookie."
• "If you have a lot of weed and smoke someone out, and they buy you a lot of food, did they just eat you out?"

Oh This is HELLA GOOD.

lol Starcraft.

http://www.dorkly.com/article/2634/conversations-in-the-terran-locker-room

Random Bored-ness

lead to this!

According to this... writing analyzer thing,

http://iwl.me/

I write like:

Name of "Work" ~ Author
The "Real" McCoy ~ Cory Doctrow
Persepolis ~ EDGAR ALLEN POE
JCO Paper ~ Margaret Atwood
Halving the Bones Paper ~ H. P. Lovecraft
Angels in America ~ KURT VONNEGUT
ID Paper ~ STEPHEN KING
Oh, Irony Paper (New Yorker) ~ H. P. Lovecraft
Mary Jane Paper I Never Turned In Because It's Lame ~  Cory Doctrow
Animal Rights ~ George Orwell
College App Essay ~ Vladimir Nabokov
Stampede ~ Isaac Asimov
Beginning of That Fiction Thing ~ Gertrude Stein
What the Fuck is Up with Virgins ~ David Foster Wallace
Blog Post: "So Much Angst" ~ J. D. Salinger
Blog Post: "I'M BAACK" ~ Cory Doctorow
Blog Post: "Darlene is Fucking Pissed" ~ J. D. Salinger

I looked up who Cory Doctorow is. Thinking about reading one of his books now. Little Brother looks really good. He's a science-fiction novelist. Figures. I also find it HELLA funny that my most insane rants got J.D. Salinger. WHAT'S UP HOLDEN?! AM I PHONY?! The fact that I got Poe and Vonnegut just made my night though. They're two of my favorite authors, and those two papers are some of my best work. Funny that I got George Orwell for the paper on animal rights. Animal Farm, anyone? Amusssssing. I'd also like to know what David Foster Wallace writes about, because that article was insane and very, very strange. This also tells me that I haven't developed a set style yet. (Or that this thing is full of shit! XD) Ah well, that was an efficient waste of time. Coolio. I'll look up the rest of these people later. Might find some interesting things to read! Yahoo!

Edit: I just put in some stuff from JCO (excerpt from "Zombie" in my paper) - and it came up Cory Doctorow. Put in ID by JCO, got Stephen King. Spider Boy got me Vonnegut. Landfill got Mario Puzo. So I've determined one thing for sure!: Joyce Carol Oates doesn't exist on the site, therefore it can't be real, 'cause SHE'S A HELLA FAMOUS AND HELLA GOOD AUTHOR.

haha. Yep.

This is Also Interesting

Kind of a neat way to think about life. Eh.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=18768430

Six-Word Memoirs: Life Stories Distilled

Some examples:

After Harvard, had baby with crackhead.
- Robin Templeton

70 years, few tears, hairy ears.
- Bill Querengesser

Watching quietly from every door frame.
- Nicole Resseguie

Catholic school backfired. Sin is in!
- Nikki Beland

Savior complex makes for many disappointments.
- Alanna Schubach

Nobody cared, then they did. Why?
- Chuck Klosterman

Some cross-eyed kid, forgotten then found.
- Diana Welch

She said she was negative. Damn.
- Ryan McRae

Born in the desert, still thirsty.
- Georgene Nunn

A sake mom, not soccer mom.
- Shawna Hausman

I asked. They answered. I wrote.
- Sebastian Junger

No future, no past. Not lost.
- Matt Brensilver

Extremely responsible, secretly longed for spontaneity.
- Sabra Jennings

Joined Army. Came out. Got booted.
- Johan Baumeister

Almost a victim of my family
- Chuck Sangster

The psychic said I'd be richer.
- Elizabeth Bernstein

Grumpy old soundman needs love, too.
- Lennie Rosengard

Mom died, Dad screwed us over.
- Lesley Kysely

Painful nerd kid, happy nerd adult.
- Linda Williamson

Write about sex, learn about love.
- Martha Garvey

The New Classics: Books

Meh. Haven't read a lot of 'em but I see some good titles on there. Guessin' it might be a pretty legit list. Dunno if Harry Potter is on there because a million people have read it, though.

http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20207076_20207387_20207349,00.html

/shrug

Stuff to Read...

Some of it looks good... happy August!

http://www.slate.com/id/2262070/pagenum/all/#p2

Some New Links:

• Hot Chicks with Douchebags
• Shit Randy Hates
• AntiDuckface
• One Manga
  

Yeah, I like manga too!

These are Freaking Brilliant!!

From The Quill, my friend's blog:

http://thequillnews.wordpress.com/2010/06/03/uw152/

I LOL'D SO HARD XD XD XD

http://thequillnews.wordpress.com/2010/05/11/uw145/

...because I love Napoleon

http://thequillnews.wordpress.com/2010/04/29/uw142/

...because it's hilarious.

Woo! Almost 3 AM now! \^^/

Good Article

"Having a bad dad is like being born with a missing limb. It doesn’t have to handicap you, but it will always define you. It makes you keep reaching for that phantom, even when you know there's nothing there."

Discussion of Lindsay Lohan and her father's relationship - and why having a bad dad sucks.

Helllooo, relation!

http://community.livejournal.com/ohnotheydidnt/46414399.html#cutid1

LFG!

Hilarious web comic. Read like half of it last night. Yay 4 AM bedtime.

http://www.lfgcomic.com/


I ♥ Richard.

I THREW IT ON THE GROUND!

http://www.hulu.com/watch/99944/saturday-night-live-digital-short-on-the-ground