Kansas Sunflowers

We have native sunflowers growing here on our property, but I do not know the official name of them or exactly what variety they are. This summer, we're participating in the Great Sunflower Project to help track bees. It should bee fun.

They sent us a packet of Helianthus annuus seeds, (aka Lemon Queens). I was going to put them across a trellis from beans, but I was advised that sunflowers can push other plants aside. Now, I'm thinking of putting them back near our bee tree--though it would be interesting to put them on the faaaaaar end of the land to see if our bees would travel there for the sunflowers. (Of course, we have a bee/butterfly garden going and we're planting some other flowers, too, so I do not know that bees will be especially attracted to these sunflowers, anyway.) Who cares, it is just fun to have sunflowers!



I want to plant some GIANT ones, to complement my GIANT pumpkins.

You'd think all I ever thought about was gardening...well, maybe so these days, but as summer progresses, I'll shift to something else, like something cool, indoors.

My International Harvester!

Craig Morgan's song is ringing in my ears as I write this--or else it's from tractoring w/o ear protection. Here's a link to the song/video, especially of interest for most of it was filmed in Wichita (in front of the Orpheum)a year or two ago.

Yes, I have an ol' Farmall SuperC, and at last it's functional again. I am so happy to have it back on its feet--er--tires. I will be using it to mow the jungle here (some weeds literally 10 ft tall!) I swore I'd never let it get this bad, and I truly was ahead of the weeds before my equipment troubles. (I think I'll go shoot a "before" picture or two, for even I would not believe how bad it's gotten!) All will be well for next year, anyway, for I'm also gearing up for livestock which should keep the weeds under control.

Outside of that, the garden is greening. The corn is going in tonight, late as it may be--it will still be okay. 'Never did get my peas planted, but then, we're not really big pea eaters.



I am most looking forward to the melons, reminiscent of my childhood and our 200 acre cantaloupe patch, 40 acres of watermelon, 40 acres of cabbage, 5 acres of peppers, 1/2 acre of strawberries, etc. We had a building to process melons, sorting them, cleaning and boxing them for shipment. My job was to sort the good from fair melons on a conveyor belt. It was hard work, but I'm pretty good at picking a good melon today!

Here's a pic of me by the load of cabbage I was about to load from our dock to one of our transport trailers...yes, I did manual labor as a kid! Builds character!



And in closing, an exciting video of some crackerjack tractoring that could only be done with the Superb Super C!

The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown!

I was trusted with Dill's Atlantic Giant Pumpkin seeds last year, but I did not really plant them seriously and nothing happened. THIS YEAR I am balancing the pH of the soil, adding nutrients, plotting the location and watering closely--altogether planning for a G-I-A-N-T pumpkin! I trust that we will grow one that's much bigger than I could hope to carry, something over 300 lbs is my goal--the record is over 1,200 pounds!

8th Anniversary--YIKES

That was the sentiment today. I mean, what's one to do with bronze as a traditional gift? I could have had a bust made, I suppose. I could have given her a bronze medal (an insult, coming in third, if you ask me). Instead I went with pottery, the other traditional gift of the 8th year.

We went to ClayWorks in Newton and hand crafted something together to commemorate our collaborative effort and joys of the last 8 years. We made a friend, too, with a former art instructor from my college. All too cool.

Looking for a great place to eat in the Wichita region? I urge you to visit Aggie's in Hesston, not too far from Town and very-much worth the drive. That's where we supped.

I also made her a card. I really need to do that more often. I have fun and she likes my handmade efforts. The art work is lousy, but it's fun, anyway.

The Job

Ready for summer school--I mean, really ready! Over a week in advance. I have all my summer course materials prepared right down to the last point in the grade book. I'm teaching three sections, but I'm eager to stay on top of it, to be responsive and proactive. This will be my best summer school experience yet.

Next, I'm going to build a technical writing course online. It should be one of my better builds, for I've been working on it for a long while in my head, gathering resources, etc. I taught it at Kansas State University for five years, then created three (state approved) technical writing courses at Cowley. What I want for this one is more and more "reality" and less academia. I want to interview people in the field (maybe I'll make it an assignment). I used to edit texts for technical writing, and I've tried to keep up with what's new in them. I've found more scenarios, more real-world documents, and (thank goodness) a move to more multi-media. I still have yet to find one that embraces mobile communication well (text messages, twittering, etc) which I foresee as being very relevant to the Workplace of Tomorrow. At least I can coach them through principles that govern most all workplace communication, show/tell how it applies to all media, maybe (?) I have a good ethics package from my mentor at KSU that textbooks have never caught up with, and I look forward to implementing that, too.

For fall, I'm going to be teaching 24 credits again, but I'm going to continue seeking ways to be more efficient. It's not just the "work smart, not hard" maxim; it's also that teaching this many credits means over 100 students in composition, which in my classes means over 100,000 words! Ugh. I want to guide them to write better material in my own self interest--I have to read it all (and I do read every page of everything, right down to their journals).

I am also continuing to incorporate more multi-media, more LMS-support, less paper, and more grammar/punctuation/mechanics. I've gotten to a comfortable place with documentation, delivering it in a palatable way that gives the students a good toe-dip. I've been building up a good rhetoric-driven approach, been very audience-centered for some time. It can always improve.

Then the bastards keep changing books on us, and I have to find a way to build content that is not text/page-specific, for that causes me HOURS of recalibrating.

All-in-all, I am very content with where I'm at on-the-job. Now if only I earned enough money! I'm still looking into moonlighting for other schools, since my school cannot allow me to have more than 24 credit hours. *sigh*

Latest Edition

SHE shall some day have me wrapped around her finger? That's what I am told. I tremble.

Honestly, I am all wuzzy on this one, not sure how to be a dad to a baby girl. I hope it will come to me eventually. I'm used to rough housing with boys, to telling stories with the guys, to being...manly. I don't know how I will adapt to her majesty. YIKES.

Anyway, she is cute, and she is lively, and I'm (honestly, under all my crusty exterior) very happy to have this latest edition, this new challenge, under our roof. She is beautiful and delightful to be around.

My lil' Ellison Dee.

Regimen

Maybe a better word is "routine."

I want to get into one this summer. I want to write, then work, then be off for the family -- daily. I hope to clear this with all parties involved, so that I might work outside when it's cool, then be free to fish, play, nap, etc for the remainder of the day, every day! Is that too much to shoot for? I know I have a GREAT DEAL TO DO regarding work, but then, I also have a great responsibility at home, especially with the new baby to be released this Friday. And, I have a good amount of duties stacked up just keeping the grounds and garden and house all in order. Still, I'd like to get back into the swing of writing (like I did in Ulysses, 1-2000 words daily). I'd like to work with my circadian rhythm and my "smart time" and coordinate all that with the optimum weather patterns per day...is that too much to ask? (Of course, some where in there, I'll need my power nap, too!)

Kids and pets and plants and (I have finally come to agree) people -- we all work better when things are in a rhythm, a cycle, a predictable pace.

Thaaaat's it...I'll call it a "rhythm," for that does not sound constricting at all...it sounds fun!

I'm already hearing that Johnny Cash lyric, "C'mon and get rhythm..."

Hey, get rhythm when you get the blues
Come on, get rhythm when you get the blues
Get a rock 'n' roll feelin' in your bones
Put taps on your toes and get gone
Get rhythm when you get the blues

A Little shoeshine boy never gets low down
But he's got the dirtiest job in town
Bendin' low at the peoples' feet
On the windy corner of the dirty street
Well, I asked him while he shined my shoes
How'd he keep from gettin' the blues
He grinned as he raised his little head
Popped a shoeshine rag and then he said

Get rhythm when you get the blues
Come on, get rhythm when you get the blues
A jumpy rhythm makes you feel so fine
It'll shake all the trouble from your worried mind
Get rhythm when you get the blues

Get rhythm when you get the blues
Come on , get rhythm when you get the blues
Get a rock 'n' roll feelin' in your bones
Put taps on your toes and get gone
Get rhythm when you get the blues

Well, I sat down to listen to the shoeshine boy
And I thought I was gonna jump for joy
Slapped on the shoe polish left and right
He took a shoeshine rag and he held it tight
He stopped once to wipe the sweat away
I said you're a mighty little boy to be-a workin' that way
He said I like it with a big wide grin
Kept on a poppin' and he said again

Get rhythm when you get the blues
Come on, get rhythm when you get the blues
It only costs a dime, just a nickel a shoe
Does a million dollars worth of good for you
Get rhythm when you get the blues

Two Shats to the Wind

Confession: I've been a Star Trek fan since the original series. I've been to the Trek museum in Vegas. I have gear (not so much) and I collected some space junk (very little). I can, of course, do the Vulcan "Live Long and Prosper." ...and yesterday, in spite of my workload, I did go to the new movie.

The Blogosphere has been buzzing about Chris Pine vs Bill Shatner for a long while, since the cast was first announced. Could he live up to the role? Could he fill the captain's seat? How could anyone have the bravado, the smirk, the style of Shat? I had low expectations, and I was wowed. This new kid in the 'verse is okay. He doesn't really have to live up to the role of the original James T. Kirk because the two JTK's have alternate realities, but that's for viewers to wrestle with. For my money, Pine is a diamond in the rough, and in this role, he rocks (to mix metaphors and cliche's about as much as possible).

I have thoughts of the film and issues to settle, but I do not want to blow the movie for anyone who may accidentally stumble across my blog. I can only, then, babble at random w/o spoiling anything.

This film has adequate bad guy-age. Not since that Borg queen have I been so wary of a villain, and like all great antagonists, his backstory justifies his badness, for we can empathize with his motives and actions. The non-Terran culture of the Romulans was conveyed well in the otherworldly interior of their ship. (The facial tats may have been a bit hokey, like some urban street culture bad guy punks, but what are you to do? Long black coats and big boots are only so foreboding.)

Star Trek had ample brain (and reason) twisting, totally flying in the face of time continuum theories--but that's all I can say about that, right now.

I was impressed with the stellar warfare, for in the Void it was largely void of those cinematic impossibilities in the vacuum of space (fire, explosions); they made up for it with an awesome soundtrack. Next time I see it, I'll attend to that even more.

The new cast, all the major figures from the original series, are good. Chekov was funny, but otherwise not that impressive. Scotty and Bones were excellent casting choices, but the very best was Spock, played by Zachary Quinto (Sylar from Heroes).



All that aside, I still have a better casting decision for Captain James T. Kirk, a guy who I always associated with the Captain, my Captain, my dad! He was always my hero, was always a leader, and had that same swashbuckling bravado (even on a farm) as Kirk, himself!

Well-grounded

I come in from shoveling, hoeing, raking, digging--gardening! My hands are like stumps and I find it hard to even grasp the facet handle to scrub up. I find the dirt has made its way into every crack, callous, cuticle. Dust to dust. As I wash it away, I mourn the loss of this crusty exterior that has been me for the afternoon. I have been a warrior against the weeds. I have been the cultivator, the creator. As I come clean, absolved of my imaginings, I am again what I am, just a bag of water, just another guy.

Morning comes and creaks, my every bone and joint arguing in favor of stasis, but I must move. I must go about becoming. I must make myself by day by words, but when evening comes again, when I pick up my shovel, I will be one with the earth and One to reckon with, at least for a while.

Meanwhile, I relish the dirt remaining beneath my nails. As I sit in this cultured environ, void of all remnant of our earthy life, tickling a keyboard to tease from it some semblance of thought, I am happy to note that dirt, humble and dark, hiding under my talons.

Talking to Myself

I've been working up a piece of science fiction in which the lead character is visited by a familiar face--his own. It is a version of himself about 20 years his senior, who has found a way back through time to visit him(self) and give some advice/insight. (Or so it seems on the surface--but I'm not going to spoil it here....that'd be the whole story you'd want to read, sometime.) Here, I'm just mentioning that as a springboard to this entry...

If I could go back and talk to myself at different intervals, would I choose to do so? Knowing it might result in me changing direction and ending up with a different life than I now lead, I'd have to say NO I would not. I might like to visit my younger self and just watch, or maybe provide some encouragement, but I would not say, "Hey, don't drink the water here--really!"

If, however, I could end up with the fantastic wife, family, job and life I now have, I might just revisit my past with a few bits of advice...

1976 No matter what, if your peers think debate and cross country and vocal are "for fags," you go right ahead and do them. If it's what you'd like to participate in, then don't let anyone dissuade you.

1980 So your farm's going under. That will only open new doors. Do not look at it as the end of the world, and don't feel obligated to stick around after high school--get on with your life.

1987 Love your grandparents more. They are a vanishing commodity. Get their life stories now, this year. Record them.

1990 You are not going to believe how great this job change is going to be for you! Get in that truck and roll with confidence. The town you are about to move to his hicks-ville, but they will love you and you will love living there!

1992 Dope! Don't even think of getting rid of that Ranchero that was your grandfather's. Especially not in trade for a good car stereo. That thing is crap. In a few years, there's going to be Synch, CD's in cars, I-Pods...hold on to that truck. Oh, and what's with the silly hair?

1997 Watch out who your friends, neighbors and housemates may be. Enjoy Pathfinders. "For the Dogs." This is a pivotal year--soak it up.

1999 Good Grief--you are faaaar to obsessed with your work. It is NOT your mission. It is NOT your life's blood. It's a job...J-O-B. There are more important things in life, like fishing with Wayne, reading books with the club, maybe even (blasphemy) saving some money.

2001 May--you lucky fellow! Getting hitched to your soul mate and best friend. Spend more time with your father. He means well, he has a lot to say and offer, and he will be gone before you know it.

2003 Fatherhood looks good on you--realize what all it is, and live it to the max. MAJOR changes are afoot for you, but they are part of a storm you must weather to see the other side. Keep your chin up, knowing that it is always darkest just before the dawn. Believe it or not, you will survive even this!

2005 Again, you lucky dog. Landing on your feet. Fecal matter is now congealing. If only you were smart enough to have been saving money from your second job...

2006 You are about to find your dream home. Put on an adult diaper and get giddy!

2008 Are you NUTS? Blending households? Actually, even this will work out for the best. Crazy as it seems and hard as it is at times, giving up privacy and control--it is the best for all parties involved. You have done the right thing...now get some sleep.

This was challenging. I think I'll work on one that might reflect a Future me coming to visit the 2009 me--wonder what he'd say of my current situations?

Trying to Please Everyone

Here's an old lesson, rebooted...YOU CAN'T PLEASE EVERYONE.

I'm writing this more for myself than public review, but it bears repetition, anyway.

YOU CAN'T PLEASE EVERYONE.

(There, I repeated it.)

See, I thought class was swell today, but there were two (2) of twenty (20) who went away disgruntled, for they don't like my delivery, the pacing, the (sometimes admittedly too-) goofy delivery. They did not like the rushed group quiz (it was a GROUP quiz, for crying out loud, over content they'd been assigned to read in advance, that we'd just gone over in class). I even gave everyone the chance to go solo if they did not like the group guesses...AND these displeased people left EARLY, when they would have had another five minutes or so to revise/do on their own, etc...

But the point is, I remind myself, that I should get over those two and their petty snarkiness. I should brush it off. I should move on. It's not like I did not have technical difficulties today. It's not like I wasn't trying to cover weeks and weeks of content in one session...ENOUGH already. I should not be justifying this for any audience.

I should not fuss over it. I should take the good days and the bad. I should take the pleased students AND the impossible ones and throw them out the window about now, for it's time for me to punch the clock and go be a family man.

...so that's what I'm going to do.

...so there.

(ugh...it still bugs me.)

9 years ago...

Zacatecas, Mexico

Gadzooks--has it been that long?

I was awarded the opportunity to tour a Rotary district in Mexico. I was part of a GSE team, and the five of us had a whirlwind month-long tour of the northern states of Mx.

I guess I am thinking of the trip for several reasons...1)that nasty swine flu, 2)I keep gazing at my favorite pictures of the Rafael Coronel Museum of Masks, Zacatecas, and 3)it was just about this time 9 years ago that I was sick (literally) and tired of my tour, ready to come home.

Outside, the place is drop-dead stunning! If I could visit somewhere on earth again, that would be one of my stops, along with Victoria Falls and Petra.

It was wonderful...I'd toured ruins in England, and of course, I want to again, but the convent ruins-restored-into-museum...well, it was over-the-top. Inside, the facility is truly a museum of masks: See Pro pic of masks and Someone's flickr pic of masks ...and I found those engaging enough by themselves.

...man, I'd sure like to be wandering the grounds again, knowing that come evening, I was going to visit a mine-turned-disco (truly, 300 ft underground, in a cave--cRaZy!!) all over again.

Good times. I'm glad I still have something of a memory.

Obama on Education

In his 1st 100 days address, Obama just said, "The most important ingredient in education is the quality of our teachers. " He claims his administration will dedicate more resources toward "Training, professional development, recruitment of teachers..." He says we need to appoint master teachers, that we need to keep drawing from professional fields to classroom... (I like this next part, though it does not really apply to me) He says there must be an increase in teacher pay so more people will go into teaching...we must pay excellent teachers more. He went on to state that the single biggest ingredient in an education is the parent. The government cannot tell parents to shut off television and help kids do their homework. Parents must instill a thirst for knowledge and excellence.

I have my issues with trillion-dollar deficit spending. I am not one to be bribed, like so many who clamor for their piece of this stimulus package or that recovery plan...but I have to admit, I continue to like what he (at least) says about my field, education. Even more so, he acknowledges that you can have the best of everything at school, but if it's not reinforced at home, it ain't gonna fly. I continue, then, to like most of what he preaches, but I am not sold on how he puts it all into practice....at least not when it comes to spending money out of thin air.

Some of my colleagues have issue with merit pay, concern that those who compromise the system (like by teaching to the test) will be the ones who get the cookies. I have noticed a correlation between those who grouse around and those who are not too eager to work up a sweat in the classroom. I wander the halls of my college and see profs kicked back, feet on the desk, doing "lecture." Some instructors let class out so early it's hardly time for the tardy students to get there. Others claim it's okay to grade an essay after just skimming the first page! These are the same folks who usually gnash their teeth about merit pay, for I believe they know they would be smoked out. Those who do their best, who always strive to do even better--well, we never get weepy over merit pay.

I have always argued that the system is on its head, that celebrities, athletes, politicians, etc. all get paid too much. I've always argued against the entire concept of the career politician, even paid representation. Instead, homemakers (of either sex), teachers, and all manner of mentors to youth--they are founding our future. Instead of blowing so much money on bombs (or with this current administration...on EVERYTHING) we should concentrate our investments on tomorrow, that is, our youth, our homes.

So...from this one snippet of Big O's presentation today, he's headed in the right direction. I love to listen to him. I am wooed by his charm and rhetoric. Afterwards, I shake it off and begin questioning things, but I have to hand it to him, he has the best presence of an political figure I can recall. Dashing!

Under-prepared

...which is to say, NOT READY.

Driving to work today, I had to ford a wash over the county road I drive. The water was over the road for the length of a football field, and it appeared about 4 inches deep...well, that was a bit of an under-guesstimate, for it surged in under my doors as I crossed. Once on the other side, over the next hill, I discovered an utterly impassible wash that sent me backtracking, taking an alternate route (that was also partially submerged).

It reminded me that I live on the edge.

Not the edge of civilization, really. My whole route (even the alternate route) to work is paved.

I am referring to the edge of my seat, my pants, my sanity. I am on the cusp of something, the brink of something, the very lip of this chasm--

I am under-prepared for Hardship. If my car were to have stalled out, there I was in my dress shoes. If I run low on gas and there's been a raid on the stations, I'm running on empty. I did not eat breakfast this morning, so likewise, if civilization crashed right now, I'd go hungry. If the Internet were to blow a gasket, where would I be then? Unable to get this out!

More realistically, I have no provisions stored up. We have no fresh water in reserve. We have no goods to barter. I don't even own a generator (as last night's power outage reminded me, yet again.)

Even more realistically, there's this pandemic scare, and my household could not go into isolation if we wanted to. People in my house depend on their daily newspaper, their daily runs to the market, and god forbid a cell phone infrastructure collapse!

And last night, as winds raged and tornadoes threatened, I realized how very under-prepared we are even for tornado or fire. We have flashlights and a battery-powered radio, but that's it, and it took 1/2 an hour to get that stuff rounded up.

My grandmother used to make me pack blankets, candles, food, warm clothes--just to traverse Kansas in the winter--heck, even to go the 12 miles to our farm some winter days! She was always prepared for any eventuality. She had weathered the 30's, and she was one tough customer.

Mennonites and Mormons are always prepared. Some of those folks have told me a tenet of their faith is to have 2 months-worth of supplies and resources at hand, always. They are always among the first responders and disaster relief teams, too. You have to respect them for that--not only are they prepared, they help mop up for all us dopes who were not-so-at-the-ready.

Getting Prepared is a good goal. Being self-sustainable may be a long, long way off, but at least this early step seems achievable--and vitally important!

GUILTY--I made too many footprints

Well, it seems I have come full circle. Twenty years ago, I was of the camp that insisted on zero population growth. I read Future Shock and all the prognostications of too much breeding. I knew in my heart it was the responsible thing to do for the good of the planet--I was going to adopt children of developing nations, never bear my own. To reproduce was simply wrong, in my head at that time. Why make more babies when there are so many already here who are not being cared for, bursting the doors of orphanages and refugee camps? What gave me the right to put more pressure on the planet by making more and more carbon foot prints? Shame on anyone who even thought of such a thing.

Well, in about two weeks, I will be the father of four (4) children. That's quite the about-face, eh?

The whole issue was brought to my attention (of course) by the upcoming arrival of our #4. It has been also resurrected by a radio broadcast I heard on the subject. In that broadcast, the expert claimed that having only one or two children was the only patriotic thing to do. More would burden the system, our nation, and thus the world. It would make the good ol' USA seem gluttonous and inconsiderate of the plight of the planet. So, for ma, apple pie, and Chevrolet, get fixed today! I had not entertained the idea of reproduction in any political light prior to that drive-time broadcast.

Since then, I've been worried what might come of such talk. Will we be breeding for the State before long? Will we offer up our brood for the VolksLand? Will larger families be ostracized for their excess?

I realize that there are some (televised, I'm told) LARGE families that boggle the minds of many. Once one gets over a dozen (there are movies to this effect, like Cheaper by the Dozen) even I find it harder to explain or justify. I've heard all I ever want to hear about the infamous Octo-mom and related cases.

Here's the thing: I'm not one of those families. Yes, we have more than replaced ourselves. Yes, we are consuming more resources than we need to be. On the other hand, my kids, even at the age of two, are learning self-sufficiency. They are learning how food is made and how much work goes into it. They are also being exposed to the harsher realities of an uncomfortable planet where inequities in the food supply are hard to forgive. (When I was a kid, we had some mystical paradigm that suggested that if I cleaned my plate, it was better for starving kids in China.)

Is my larger-than-necessary family leaving a bigger carbon footprint than those who abide by the recommendations? Sure. I would argue, however, that they will tread lightly on the planet, maybe even contribute to the greater good of the planet, than many who have been carefully and more-conscientiously born and bred.

Rain

So, it's raining here in KS. It's now monsoon season, spring. Forecast says it's to rain virtually every day this week.

Some people dislike the rain, the mud...flooding. It inconveniences some folk; musses up the hair.

For me, however, there's nothing quite like it.
I grew up in Western Kansas, where all precipitation comes from the side, usually the north, not from the clouds. Rain was rare; when it did come, it was revered. There's nothing quite as exhilarating as the fresh smell of rain. My grandma told the story how that during the '30's they would sometimes pour a pitcher of water on the dusty driveway, then bend over and inhale that sweet smell they'd been so-long separated from.

There's a lot to be said for growing up in a desolate, barren place like SW KS. It makes me appreciate the little things, like, say: other people, trees, and especially rain! I'm always more happy when it's cloudy, raining, soggy. To me, rain means life, liveliness, and (as a wanna be farmer) livelihood.

I have been known to go for a walk in the rain. I've ran naked in the rain. I like to catch rain drops in my mouth. What's more pure, more quenching, than fresh rain?

Alas, it escapes me...
Out at my mom's place there's a 500 gallon tank that once held well water (in my grandfather's day). The tank is still sound, though I'd have it professionally rehabbed and cleansed before using it. I'd like to have that to pump full of well water AND to capture rainwater. I could easily water my whole property (and future livestock) from that tank, if only she'd let it go.

Meanwhile...
I like the sound of rain. I like to watch it rain. I like the patter and patterns of rain on a window. (I wish I had a window in my office!) I like songs about rain. Rain, like food, is an old, powerful word...

rain
O.E. regn, from P.Gmc. *regna- (cf. O.S. regan, O.N. regn, O.Fris. rein, M.Du. reghen, Ger. regen, Goth. rign "rain"), with no certain cognates outside Gmc., unless it is from a presumed PIE *reg- "moist, wet," which may be the source of L. rigare "to wet, moisten" (cf. irrigate). The verb is O.E. regnian, usually contracted to rinan. Transf. and fig. use of other things that fall as rain (blessings, tears, etc.) is recorded from c.1200. Rainbow is O.E. renboga (common Gmc. compound, cf. O.N. regnbogi, Du. regenboog, see bow (n.)). Raindrop is O.E. rendropa; first record of raincheck is from 1884, originally of tickets to rained-out baseball games. Raincoat attested from 1830. Rainmaker first recorded 1775, in ref. to tribal magicians. Phrase to rain cats and dogs is attested from 1738 (variation rain dogs and polecats is from 1652), of unknown origin, despite intense speculation. One of the more idiotic assertions is that it refers to pets sliding off sod roofs when the sod got too wet during a rainstorm. Ever see a cat react to a rainstorm by climbing up on an exposed roof? To rain on (someone's) parade is attested from 1941.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper

Rainmaker is one of my favorite words/concepts, from the very sound of it to every connotative meaning it may pack.

Listening to: "Have you ever seen the rain" by CCR.

Stranger than Fiction

I've now watched this film something like 17 times (sometimes not too attentively) through class, etc. Repetition does not make me an expert, but it does likely make me fairly familiar with the film.

What strikes me is that I am still affected emotionally by it. I know it's a bit hammy and heavy handed. I know that Will Ferell is an unlikely actor to carry a romantic comedy. I know the message is Hollywood drivel. Regardless, it still gets me.

Likely this is because I'm such a sucker for high concept movies. While others poo poo them out of the blocks, I default to being their champion until proven otherwise. I like a movie with a premise that surprises me. (Yes, I am aware that STF does not offer a premise that has never been proposed before. Like thrift store clothing, though, it was new to me.) I like a movie that makes me pause to consider, especially if that pause is right in the wake of the initial surprise of circumstance/premise.

If I can just ride the tide of a film, then I am typically bored by it. SOMETHING has to jump out at me via acting, characters, plot, even the setting/situation can stir me...but if I leave the theatre or couch w/o being affected, I never recommend the film to anyone.

"Being affected" is a nebulous criteria, I realize. Something happens across my synapses, some "wow" response is stimulated. I am (at the least) led to say 'hmmmmmm' and at the most immediately evangelizing the film to all I know.

Sometimes I enjoy a toe-to-toe slugfest with someone who may criticize a film I like. This is something I really relish when it's a film I am really behind: Serenity, Pirates of the C...., and now, more and more, Stranger than Fiction.

At the very least, I recommend it. Give it a view.

Humor

I'm a founder of the campus creative writing club, and we generate new assignments weekly...last week I was tasked w/historical fiction. This week we are to craft something humorous.

Comedy has always evaded me. Next to poetry, I find it about the hardest thing in the world to write. Part of the problem is that humor is relative. Fart jokes work in middle school (and on sophomoric radio talk shows) and knock-knock jokes work on my kindergartener...

...and then I try to think of a timeless bit of humor, something that might still get a chuckle one hundred years from now. THAT's really challenging!

I am taking ideas, if anyone has any.

April Fool's Day

Why do I like this "holiday" anyhow? Maybe it's empowering, I don't know. Maybe it's the fact that I get to let my fun side out some, I guess.

Today's jests included:
shut off hot water heater
turned up house thermostat
advanced clocks 2 hrs
toilet seat goo
hid the newspaper
keyboard retardation trick
turned several optical mice blind
punked my entire class, twice
and more to come.

I'm going to think up some for my little boys yet today, to get them in the spirit of things. I'm sure my family is cooking up something for me, too.

I used this in class today as a hoax website example. Fun. Fun. Fun.

What's so Funny?

Kid gush, again--skip on if you have low tolerance...

So, my 6 year old has been struggling with humor for some time now. He laughs (and always has) at bodily functions, situational humor, slapstick--but word games, puns, etc...he's reasoning his way through.

I find this absolutely amazing.

It reminds me of Star Trek: TNG when Data (an android, in case you did not know) was sometimes striving to be more human. He would attempt jokes, jazz, emotions, etc...

My son is great because, unlike a self-conscious adult, when he does not get the joke, he will ask outright: "What makes that funny, dad?" Sometimes, anticipating he won't get a joke, I'll tell the punchline and immediately go into explication of it. He will interrupt me, "I get it, already." Other times, even if every word in the joke is w/n his vocabulary, he may still wrestle with the joke for days or weeks. Almost always, whenever he does finally get it, he dredges it up again from some fantastic memory bank, verbatim.

I imagine similar issues are afoot for people studying a second language. Since many puns and word-related jokes are on the fringes, border crossings of slang and such, I would bet they are not commonly covered in classes on language. I think it would be a super course, however, to have a capstone course on jokes in the language..."Humor in Klingon," for example.

A) What do you call a truckload of Bison?

B) What kind of spell turns you into a dinosaur?

C) Knock, knock.
Who's there?
Olive.
Olive who?


These are the kind of jokes he's now logged into his repertoire and fully understands. They're just the kind of stuff I like to use in class, too!

A) Buffaload
B) T-hex
C) Olive you!