Briefly de-sabbaticalizing to post this link to an extremely thoughtful essay comparing Roman Polanski's life to that of a well-known countryman and contemporary. It's the Anchoress at her best. Worth passing along if only a little bit farther, I think.
Recently, an individual from a town down the road ran into a little trouble with the law for allegedly stalking pop/country singer Miley Cyrus. Seemingly in revenge, pop radio stations in the area have been playing Miley's latest in high rotation. I cannot escape from the song. I'm sure that even King George II would have kept his seat had he been played the Hallelujah Chorus repeatedly ad nauseum. So, in hopes of exorcising an ear worm, and having a little fun, the Parody department offers its take on Miley Cyrus' "Party in the U.S.A."
That Miley Song to the tune of Party in the U.S.A. by DMinor and CMinor (apologies to Lucasz Gottwald, Claude Kelly, Jessica Cornish and Miley Cyrus) I'm on the job, got a lot to do But the radio's my friend Let the DJ spin his hits for me Am I gonna like them?
I didn't mind hearing it for the first time It wasn't bad on the second and third time This is all so crazy Have all the DJ's got lazy?
And now I hear it And I'm feelin' like I'll get sick Too much airplay And exposure 'Cause when a buddy turned on the radio
And that Miley song was on And that Miley song was on And that Miley song was on
So I throw my hands up They're playin' that song I'm screaming "just go away!" Banging my head -- oh yeah Plugging my ears -- oh yeah I'm gonna give up Why didn't they know That it ruined ol' Billy Ray Yeah She's suffering from overplay Yeah She's suffering from overplay
Get to my house - it's after work And the kids have all come home from school My daughter says she's got to have her station-- She says mine's not cool Oh well, a little pop can't hurt me It's definitely not old AT-Forty 'Cause all I want are Dick and Casey These modern DJ's drive me crazy
But now I hear it And I'm feelin' like I'll get sick Too much airplay And exposure Only fifteen minutes from the last time
That the Miley song was on That the Miley song was on That the Miley song was on
So I throw my hands up They're playin' that song I'm screaming "just go away!" Tearing my hair -- Oh yeah! Pounding the ground -- Oh yeah! I'm gonna give up Why didn't they know That it ruined ol' Billy Ray Yeah She's suffering from overplay Yeah She's suffering from overplay
What is wrong with Beyoncé? Nickleback is just all right. Really want some Led Zepplin But there's that song again-- no end in sight!
So I throw my hands up They're playin' that song I'm screaming "just go away!" Banging my head -- oh yeah Plugging my ears -- oh yeah I'm gonna give up Why didn't they know That it ruined ol' Billy Ray Yeah She's suffering from overplay Yeah She's suffering from overplay
So I throw my hands up They're playin' that song I'm screaming "just go away!" Tearing my hair -- Oh yeah! Pounding the ground -- Oh yeah! I'm gonna give up Why didn't they know That it ruined ol' Billy Ray Yeah She's suffering from overplay Yeah She's suffering from overplay
We at the minor premise extend our sincere and heartfelt condolences to Kyle Cupp ( Journeys in Alterity) and his family on the passing of their daughter/sister, Vivian Marie.
Indeed, those who claim the South fought the Civil War to keep Atlanta from happening may never have considered the possibilities of Dallas. --Paul Greenberg
If that's so, then may the South rise again. Only yesterday Hon. Daughter #1, planning a trip into the NYC of the Old South, paused briefly to wail, "But I'm too young to die!" "Shoot," I said. "And you've spent the last three years driving all over Charlotte?" But the Dirty South is in a class by itself.
The school my kids attend did not run the president's speech, so here are some bullets from the text of the speech and some reaction from across the blogosphere.
I know that for many of you, today is the first day of school. [S]ome of you are probably wishing it were still summer, and you could've stayed in bed just a little longer this morning.
When I was young, . . . . my mother. . . . .decided to teach me extra lessons. [W]henever I'd complain, my mother would just give me one of those looks and say, "This is no picnic for me either, buster."
I'm here because I want to talk with you about your education and what's expected of all of you in this new school year.
what I want to focus on today: the responsibility each of you has for your education.
Every single one of you has something you're good at. Every single one of you has something to offer. And you have a responsibility to yourself to discover what that is. That's the opportunity an education can provide.
[N]o matter what you want to do with your life - I guarantee that you'll need an education to do it.
What you make of your education will decide nothing less than the future of this country.
[I]f you quit on school - you're not just quitting on yourself, you're quitting on your country.
[I}t's not always easy to do well in school.
I did some things I'm not proud of, and got in more trouble than I should have.
But I was fortunate.
[T]he circumstances of your life . . .[are] no excuse for neglecting your homework or having a bad attitude.
Where you are right now doesn't have to determine where you'll end up.
I'm calling on each of you to set your own goals for your education - and to do everything you can to meet them.
I hope you'll all wash your hands a lot, and stay home from school when you don't feel well. . . .
[B]eing successful is hard.
No one's born being good at things, you become good at things through hard work.
[F]ind an adult you trust - a parent, grandparent or teacher; a coach or counselor - and ask them to help you stay on track to meet your goals.
[W]hen you give up on yourself, you give up on your country.
The story of America isn't about people who quit when things got tough.
So today, I want to ask you, what's your contribution going to be?
I'm working hard to fix up your classrooms . . . .
I expect great things from each of you.
Make us all proud. I know you can do it.
Thank you, God bless you, and God bless America.
Reading the speech, I thought it was worthy of a local principal or school superintendent. Did the President need to make this speech to all students at the same time? Wouldn't it have been better (and more efficient) to record his piece and let school systems download or stream it? And leave the hype running up to the speech out. Perhaps if they had known the length, more schools would have balked. As it was, the speech appears as a grand publicity ploy rather than a substantive addition to learning. And don't get me started on the first draft of the lesson plan suggestions.
So what was the school-kid reaction to the speech?
From The Bookworm Room My daughter, who attends middle school, told me that she understood the the take-away message from Obama’s speech to be “The future is your responsibility,” a thought she found unpleasantly burdensome. Generally, she thought the speech was long and boring.
From Lorie Byrd's child on Wizbang On September 8th, 2009, I watched President Obama give his speech. Some kids got a note from their parents and got to do fun stuff instead. I was very jealous. I listened to him talk about school and how it was the first day of school (although it wasn't) and other boring stuff for FIFTEEN MINUTES! To a kid that's a looong time in school.
During the speech, my friend and her friend were talking, and my teacher said they were being very disrespectful to the president, the leader of our armed forces (blah, blah, blah and some other stuff).
Pointless fact: My grandmother once taught at the high school where the President gave his speech.
There has been much brouhaha over the President making a speech to the students of the U.S. It makes me wonder if he is having trouble getting prime TV time, since he has used the privilege so often. Perhaps after this speech, he can appear on Sesame Street. Count: Ah, President Obama, how nice to see you Pres: Hello Count, how are you doing? Count: Wonderful, just wonderful! Ever since you have taken office I have had endless fun counting the rising deficit! That's one, one trillion added to the deficit. Two, Two trillion added to the deficit. Three, three trillion. . . Pres: Count! Count: Four, four trillion added to the deficit! Five, Five trillion added to the deficit! Six, Six trillion. . . Pres: Count! Please . . Count Seven trillion, eight trillion, NINE, NINE TRILLION ADDED TO THE DEFICIT AH HA HA HA [cue lighting/thunderbolt].
Maybe that wouldn't be a great PR move after all. On the speech, the Obama administration is taking a great deal of heat, facing accusations of forced indoctrination of students. However, guess who said the following: 1) "The Department of Education should not be producing paid political advertising for the president, it should be helping us to produce smarter students"
2) [the White House should not be] "using precious dollars for campaigns" [when] "we are struggling for every silly dime we can get"
3) "the president should be doing more about education than saying, 'Lights, camera, action.'"
Answers at the bottom of the post.
A menu of classroom activities for the speech exhorts teachers to ask students "Why is it important that we listen to the President and other elected officials, like the mayor, senators, members of congress or the governor? Why is what they say important?
Additionally, after the speech teachers will ask students to ponder "What is the President asking me to do?" and to write letters to themselves about what they can do to help the president. Teachers are also to encourage participation in the Department of Education's video contest. Perhaps the winning entry will look something like this:
"I pledge to be a servant of Our President.. . ."
An optional part of the plan called for the students' progress toward their goals to be tracked in order to hold students accountable. I wonder if anyone in the "pledge" video has been held accountable to their promises.
The answers: 1) Richard Gephardt 2) Patricia Schroeder 3) Richard Gephardt again But, of course, they were saying this about President George H. W. Bush's speech to high school students in 1991, contrary to Secretary of Education Arne Duncan's claims that Obama's speech would be "the first time an American president has spoken directly to the nation's school children about persisting and succeeding in school." Where are Gephardt and Schroeder now? (source PoliFact )