Last night, I get a call from mom at 5:30 telling me to come over immediately. I knew she must've just gotten home and found something wrong with dad. I hurry up there after getting stuck behind a car going 20 mph half the way. Dad is on the couch downstairs, tons of dark blood in his nose and mouth and around him, but mom had already cleaned a lot of it up. He's sweating, his pupils are pinpoints and his breathing is gurgling - more of that blood stuff is probably in his lungs. Mom couldn't get him up and wanted me to try. I pinch him hard, I force his eyes open, etc., but he is totally unresponsive and I tell mom she has to call 911.
Pretty soon the room is filled with firemen, EMT's and eventually the ambulance paramedics. They think his heart may have stopped and do a little CPR. He has a very high pulse. They want to know what prescriptions he is taking. We go look at his pills and one of the bottles is totally empty; it looks like he may have overdosed on some pain medicine. Apparently, if you take too much it can make you goofy and not realize what's going on or how much you've taken and next thing you know you may have finished them off.
He go after him to the emergency room and my brother calls our uncle to inform his parents, etc. I'm getting ready to head back up there today, he's in ICU. He's on a breathing tube, his lungs are damaged from that stuff in it. If he was that way all day he could've had some brain damage from lack of oxygen. He had lots of bleeding in his stomach - tons of it. Apparently one of the doctors got him to squeeze his hand early this morning but no other movement so far.
I guess we're not totally surprised this happened, he hasn't been taking good care of himself for a long time. Last night they did a CT scan which is not a test for brain activity, but it is a static image of the brain. They found a few abnormalities, one of them apparently an old stroke no one knew he had had, and the other they have no idea - maybe multiple sclerosis or maybe something from childhood or something they just have no idea of what it might be.
Jeff and I are both fine, mom is having a bit harder time. I'm heading up there soon to hang out with her.
Thursday, January 27, 2005
Tuesday, January 25, 2005
Johnny
I can remember it being a very special treat to get to stay up late and watch Johnny Carson. No other late night talk show host is like him. Jay Leno, David Letterman and Conan O'Brian each have their strengths, but Johnny seemed to be the master of all aspects of late night hosting. And somehow he came across as being nice. Maybe it's the name. Johnny Carson, Jimmy Carter - add a Y on the end and you end up a nice guy? I don't know any folks in the modern era who put a Y on the end of their names into adulthood - they seem to think it makes them sound immature. But it worked for those two, didn't it? :)
Monday, January 17, 2005
Western Leadership
Well this weekend I was at the NEA Western Regional Leadership Conference in Denver. Plus, I got to do some night time geocaching with my friend Michelle - we had a blast!
Reg Weaver is the president of NEA, he gave a nice speech Friday night. This isn't exactly what he said but a small portion of it simplified a bit. It was fun and hopefully useful - that remains to be seen if we can put anything from the conference to good use.
Reg Weaver's Ten Commandments! You want public education to be great in this country? Then try following these:
Commandment Number One: Thou shalt not pretend to reform schools by passing some bogus Ten Commandments law that will most likely be declared unconstitutional.
Commandment Number Two: Thou shalt not say that children are America's top priority when 20 percent of America's children live in poverty, 15 percent have no health insurance, and 13 children are killed by gunfire every single day.
Commandment Number Three: Thou shalt recognize that only public education has the potential to provide each and every child in America with a quality education, and therefore, thou shalt not abandon public schools, but redeem and enhance them.
Commandment Number Four: Thou shalt not spend more money on prisons than on schools. The more quality schools you have, the fewer prisons you'll need.
Commandment Number Five: Thou shalt not kid thyself that paying starting teachers $20,000 a year is any way to attract and retain the best and the brightest educators for our kids. Thou shalt support future teachers - not insult them.
Commandment Number Six: Thou shalt respect every child as precious and capable of learning - regardless of their background - and treat them as the valuable natural resource that they are.
Commandment Number Seven: Thou shalt not bash teachers - especially when thou has not been in a classroom thyself for the last 35 years.
Commandment Number Eight: Thou shalt honor not only teachers, but the people who drive the buses, clean the hallways, serve the lunches, counsel the students, take the attendance, nurse the injured, assist in the classrooms, and run our nation's schools with dignity and dedication and grace.
Commandment Number Nine: Thou shalt recognize that quality education requires everybody in the education community to work together cooperatively - from retired teachers to new administrators to parents - and engage them accordingly.
And finally, Commandment Number Ten: Thou shalt remember that public education must always be an immediate priority and a long-term investment. Schools must not be subjected to quick fixes or get-rich-quick schemes.
And what the heck. Let me add an Eleventh Commandment: Thou shalt not determine a student's entire future by the results of a single ultra-high stakes test -- especially if that test is inherently flawed and unfair!
And a Twelfth Commandment! Why not? Commandment Number Twelve: Thou shalt not establish a whole new set of standards for schools without aligning them with the curriculum! Or, without aligning them with the tests! Or without any input from the teachers who are actually going to have to teach them! And thou shalt certainly not hold schools accountable to these standards without giving them the help and the resources they need to meet them!
Now those are Twelve Commandments that will make a truly extraordinary difference for children all across America!
Reg Weaver is the president of NEA, he gave a nice speech Friday night. This isn't exactly what he said but a small portion of it simplified a bit. It was fun and hopefully useful - that remains to be seen if we can put anything from the conference to good use.
Reg Weaver's Ten Commandments! You want public education to be great in this country? Then try following these:
Commandment Number One: Thou shalt not pretend to reform schools by passing some bogus Ten Commandments law that will most likely be declared unconstitutional.
Commandment Number Two: Thou shalt not say that children are America's top priority when 20 percent of America's children live in poverty, 15 percent have no health insurance, and 13 children are killed by gunfire every single day.
Commandment Number Three: Thou shalt recognize that only public education has the potential to provide each and every child in America with a quality education, and therefore, thou shalt not abandon public schools, but redeem and enhance them.
Commandment Number Four: Thou shalt not spend more money on prisons than on schools. The more quality schools you have, the fewer prisons you'll need.
Commandment Number Five: Thou shalt not kid thyself that paying starting teachers $20,000 a year is any way to attract and retain the best and the brightest educators for our kids. Thou shalt support future teachers - not insult them.
Commandment Number Six: Thou shalt respect every child as precious and capable of learning - regardless of their background - and treat them as the valuable natural resource that they are.
Commandment Number Seven: Thou shalt not bash teachers - especially when thou has not been in a classroom thyself for the last 35 years.
Commandment Number Eight: Thou shalt honor not only teachers, but the people who drive the buses, clean the hallways, serve the lunches, counsel the students, take the attendance, nurse the injured, assist in the classrooms, and run our nation's schools with dignity and dedication and grace.
Commandment Number Nine: Thou shalt recognize that quality education requires everybody in the education community to work together cooperatively - from retired teachers to new administrators to parents - and engage them accordingly.
And finally, Commandment Number Ten: Thou shalt remember that public education must always be an immediate priority and a long-term investment. Schools must not be subjected to quick fixes or get-rich-quick schemes.
And what the heck. Let me add an Eleventh Commandment: Thou shalt not determine a student's entire future by the results of a single ultra-high stakes test -- especially if that test is inherently flawed and unfair!
And a Twelfth Commandment! Why not? Commandment Number Twelve: Thou shalt not establish a whole new set of standards for schools without aligning them with the curriculum! Or, without aligning them with the tests! Or without any input from the teachers who are actually going to have to teach them! And thou shalt certainly not hold schools accountable to these standards without giving them the help and the resources they need to meet them!
Now those are Twelve Commandments that will make a truly extraordinary difference for children all across America!
Monday, January 10, 2005
new year's quiz stolen from Chris
2004
1. What did you do this year that you've never done before?
Played Nintendo GameCube, Geocaching, went to Pennsylvania
2. Did you keep your new years resolution and what is yours for this year?
I don't really make NY resolutions. I make them as I go, particularly at the start of something new, like a new school year, new semester, new summer break. I have several things to work on.
3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
No
4. Did anyone close to you die?
My aunt
5. What countries did you visit?
None
6. What would you like to have in 2005 that you didn't have in 2004?
Improved fitness, a cleaner house, new friends
7. What dates will remain attached in your memory
I probably won't remember anything in terms of its date.
8. What was your biggest acheivment in 2004?
Getting divorced
9. Biggest failure
Getting divorced
10. Did you suffer from illness or injury?
No, alhumdooleluh, nothing serious
11. What was the best thing you bought?
a new refrigerator - important if you need one
12. Whose behaviour merited celebration?
mom, brother
13. Whose behaviour made you appaled or depressed?
dad
14. Where did you spend most of your money?
bills
15. What were you most excited about?
teaching AP Stats
16. What song will always remind you of 2004?
don't have one
17. Compared to this time last year, are you happier or sadder?
same
18. Richer or poorer?
richer, I got a raise
19. What do you wish you'd done less of?
praying without good concentration
20. How will you be celebrating Eid Al-Adha?
nothing planned
21. Did you fall in love this year?
maybe
22. What was your favorite anasheed or naat?
the one's Renee and Leila gave me
21. Do you hate anyone that you didn't hate last year?
no
22. What was the best book you read?
Islamic - light of Holy Qur'an
non-Islamic - Hillerman or Dan Brown
23. What was your greatest musical discovery?
none
24. What did you want and get?
I have every material thing I really need.
25. What was your favorite film this year?
Maybe The Bourne Supremacy.
26. How would you describe your fashion statement?
Islamic semi-clean occasionally wrinkled professional, unless it is a weekend.
27. What kept you sane in 2004?
patience and hope
28. What political issue stirred you the most?
Headscarf ban, Presidential election, our school board
29. Who was the best new person you met in 2004?
in person I finally met Sakina Dewji, also Mehdi Husain and Freda. I met lots of great people online.
30. What lesson did you learn in 2004 that best sums up your year?
I learn this one a lot - everything happpens in His time, not ours.
31. Song lyric that sums up your life in 2004?
none
1. What did you do this year that you've never done before?
Played Nintendo GameCube, Geocaching, went to Pennsylvania
2. Did you keep your new years resolution and what is yours for this year?
I don't really make NY resolutions. I make them as I go, particularly at the start of something new, like a new school year, new semester, new summer break. I have several things to work on.
3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
No
4. Did anyone close to you die?
My aunt
5. What countries did you visit?
None
6. What would you like to have in 2005 that you didn't have in 2004?
Improved fitness, a cleaner house, new friends
7. What dates will remain attached in your memory
I probably won't remember anything in terms of its date.
8. What was your biggest acheivment in 2004?
Getting divorced
9. Biggest failure
Getting divorced
10. Did you suffer from illness or injury?
No, alhumdooleluh, nothing serious
11. What was the best thing you bought?
a new refrigerator - important if you need one
12. Whose behaviour merited celebration?
mom, brother
13. Whose behaviour made you appaled or depressed?
dad
14. Where did you spend most of your money?
bills
15. What were you most excited about?
teaching AP Stats
16. What song will always remind you of 2004?
don't have one
17. Compared to this time last year, are you happier or sadder?
same
18. Richer or poorer?
richer, I got a raise
19. What do you wish you'd done less of?
praying without good concentration
20. How will you be celebrating Eid Al-Adha?
nothing planned
21. Did you fall in love this year?
maybe
22. What was your favorite anasheed or naat?
the one's Renee and Leila gave me
21. Do you hate anyone that you didn't hate last year?
no
22. What was the best book you read?
Islamic - light of Holy Qur'an
non-Islamic - Hillerman or Dan Brown
23. What was your greatest musical discovery?
none
24. What did you want and get?
I have every material thing I really need.
25. What was your favorite film this year?
Maybe The Bourne Supremacy.
26. How would you describe your fashion statement?
Islamic semi-clean occasionally wrinkled professional, unless it is a weekend.
27. What kept you sane in 2004?
patience and hope
28. What political issue stirred you the most?
Headscarf ban, Presidential election, our school board
29. Who was the best new person you met in 2004?
in person I finally met Sakina Dewji, also Mehdi Husain and Freda. I met lots of great people online.
30. What lesson did you learn in 2004 that best sums up your year?
I learn this one a lot - everything happpens in His time, not ours.
31. Song lyric that sums up your life in 2004?
none
Monday, January 03, 2005
More on Donations
At that site, orphan sponsorships are about $400-$600/yr. I'd rather not do monthly because if people didn't meet their commitment then others would have to make the difference and might not be able to do.
Tsunami donation can be any amount.
Other organizations have sponsorships, I don't know what organization might be best. I sponsored orphans through Childreach for a decade, they're a non-religious organization, but they're cheaper.
It all depends on what you want and how much money we're talking about that people will commit, etc.
Tsunami donation can be any amount.
Other organizations have sponsorships, I don't know what organization might be best. I sponsored orphans through Childreach for a decade, they're a non-religious organization, but they're cheaper.
It all depends on what you want and how much money we're talking about that people will commit, etc.
Saturday, January 01, 2005
Tsunami Relief
Donations Accepted Here
Just a thought: what if every blog reader donated at least $5 dollars for relief? Or if we put together $5 each per month to sponsor an orphan or two together?
Just a thought: what if every blog reader donated at least $5 dollars for relief? Or if we put together $5 each per month to sponsor an orphan or two together?
Thursday, December 23, 2004
The Real Christmas
As it has been mentioned in the books of supplication and hadith, the 25 th of Dul Qa'dah (January 7 th of 2005) is the day of Da'wul Ardh (also known as Earth Day).
According to some hadith, this event actually is on the 29 th of Dhul Qa'dah (January 11th 2005) – however, keeping these dates in mind, we highlight the importance of this day, some of the events that had transpired in history and what actions we should perform on this blessed day that Allah (Glory and Greatness be to Him) has granted to us. What is the importance of this day?
It is said that the Sacred Ka'bah was sent down to Earth on this day and this is also when Allah (Glory and Greatness be to Him) spread out ALL the land on the Earth under the Ka'bah. According to the same narration, this is also the day when Prophet Adam (peace be with him) was sent to Earth after he and his wife, Hawwah ate from the tree in the ‘Earthly Paradise’. The Qur'an refers to the Ka'bah as being the first house of worship for mankind on this Earth in the following verse:
According to some hadith, this event actually is on the 29 th of Dhul Qa'dah (January 11th 2005) – however, keeping these dates in mind, we highlight the importance of this day, some of the events that had transpired in history and what actions we should perform on this blessed day that Allah (Glory and Greatness be to Him) has granted to us. What is the importance of this day?
It is said that the Sacred Ka'bah was sent down to Earth on this day and this is also when Allah (Glory and Greatness be to Him) spread out ALL the land on the Earth under the Ka'bah. According to the same narration, this is also the day when Prophet Adam (peace be with him) was sent to Earth after he and his wife, Hawwah ate from the tree in the ‘Earthly Paradise’. The Qur'an refers to the Ka'bah as being the first house of worship for mankind on this Earth in the following verse:
Tuesday, December 21, 2004
Picture and Ayatul Kursi
I haven't put up a picture in ages. I don't have any terribly exciting photos, but I do have a picture of an unplanned purchase: I went with my mother to the mall so she could get a new purse and ended up getting one too. Hers is blue and mine is cool. :)
Ayat al-Kursi is verse 255 (I thought it included other verses surrounding it, too?) of the second chapter (Surah) of the Holy Quran, Surat al-Baqarah (The Chapter of the Cow).
In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful.
Allah! There is no God but He,
the Living, the Self-subsisting, the Eternal.
No slumber can seize Him, nor sleep.
All things in heaven and earth are His.
Who could intercede in His presence without His permission?
He knows what appears in front of and behind His creatures.
Nor can they encompass any knowledge of Him except what he wills.
His throne extends over the heavens and the earth,
and He feels no fatigue in guarding and preserving them,
for He is the Highest and Most Exalted.
One who recites Ayatul Kursi every morning will be in the protection, safety of Allah until the night.
For those of our dear ones who have passed away, recitation of Ayatul Kursi and giving it as Hadiya to them, gives them light (noor) in the grave.
Frequent recitation makes ones own death easy.
When leaving home, if one recites it once, the Almighty has one group of Angels to come and protect you. If recited twice, 2 groups of Angels are assigned to do this. If recited 3 times Allah tells the Angels not to worry as the Almighty himself takes care of him.
The Holy Prophet has said: If one recites Ayatul Kursi before going to sleep, Allah will send an Angel to come and look after you and protect you till the morning. His home, family and also neighbours will remain in safety until morning.
When one is alone in the home, recitation of Ayatul Kursi and asking Allah to help will make you remain calm and you will not fear.
The Holy Prophet has said: When leaving home,if one recites Ayatul Kursi the Allah will send 70,000 Angels to do Istighfaar for him until he returns home, and upon his return Poverty will be removed from him.
One who recites it after every prayer, thier salaat will be accepted, they will remain in the safety of the Almighty and He will protect them.
Ayat al-Kursi is verse 255 (I thought it included other verses surrounding it, too?) of the second chapter (Surah) of the Holy Quran, Surat al-Baqarah (The Chapter of the Cow).
In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful.
Allah! There is no God but He,
the Living, the Self-subsisting, the Eternal.
No slumber can seize Him, nor sleep.
All things in heaven and earth are His.
Who could intercede in His presence without His permission?
He knows what appears in front of and behind His creatures.
Nor can they encompass any knowledge of Him except what he wills.
His throne extends over the heavens and the earth,
and He feels no fatigue in guarding and preserving them,
for He is the Highest and Most Exalted.
One who recites Ayatul Kursi every morning will be in the protection, safety of Allah until the night.
For those of our dear ones who have passed away, recitation of Ayatul Kursi and giving it as Hadiya to them, gives them light (noor) in the grave.
Frequent recitation makes ones own death easy.
When leaving home, if one recites it once, the Almighty has one group of Angels to come and protect you. If recited twice, 2 groups of Angels are assigned to do this. If recited 3 times Allah tells the Angels not to worry as the Almighty himself takes care of him.
The Holy Prophet has said: If one recites Ayatul Kursi before going to sleep, Allah will send an Angel to come and look after you and protect you till the morning. His home, family and also neighbours will remain in safety until morning.
When one is alone in the home, recitation of Ayatul Kursi and asking Allah to help will make you remain calm and you will not fear.
The Holy Prophet has said: When leaving home,if one recites Ayatul Kursi the Allah will send 70,000 Angels to do Istighfaar for him until he returns home, and upon his return Poverty will be removed from him.
One who recites it after every prayer, thier salaat will be accepted, they will remain in the safety of the Almighty and He will protect them.
Sunday, December 19, 2004
I thought of doing this, but don't know if I could handle a full day of nothing but LOTR
MIDDLE-EARTH MARATHON
By PAUL ASAY THE GAZETTE
J.R.R. Tolkien was annoyed when his publishers refused to meld his fantasy epic, “Lord of the Rings,” into one huge book. Director Peter Jackson sympathizes. He thinks of his Oscarwinning adaptations of “Rings” as one huge movie — albeit one originally released with yearlong intermissions. The movies hit theaters in December 2001, 2002 and 2003 respectively.
To honor the intent of Tolkien and Jackson — and with no new “Rings” movie to keep me occupied — I decided to settle into my sofa and watch all three “Lord of the Rings” movies in succession.
We’re talking the extended versions, here, including the new “Return of the King,” which was released Dec. 14, just hours before my Middle-earth marathon began. The movie’s release marked the first time geeks like me could spend a full day in Middle-earth.
You could watch Disney’s “Sleeping Beauty” three times before the credits would roll for “Return of the King.” Put all three together, and you’ve got an 11-hour, 22-minute feature, which makes the 3-hour, 58-minute “Gone With the Wind” look like a throwaway lark in comparison.
Admittedly, I’m a fan of the “Rings” movies.
But 11 hours and 22 minutes? It’s enough to challenge even the hardiest of couch potatoes. Would the experience make me swear off the movies forever? Would it break my sanity? Would it make my feet grow big and hairy?
Should I stretch first?
Tuesday, 12:02 a.m.: I blearily weave into a local Media Play store to pick up my reserved copy of “Return of the King.”
I’m a latecomer.
According to a Media Play official, at least 10 copies were picked up and purchased in the 120 seconds before I arrived. About a half-dozen sweatshirted, 20-something guys are loitering in the store, gently caressing their blue “Return of the King” boxes. It might be my imagination, but one appears to be muttering “my precious” under his breath.
9:06 a.m.: I start “Fellowship of the Ring.”
9:30 a.m.: Less than 30 minutes into the first film, I realize I should’ve bought a bigger television for the marathon. Maybe I could’ve expensed it.
10:16 a.m.: I’ve been sitting for more than an hour. It’s hard work, and I need to keep up my strength. I grab a chocolate-chip cookie.
10:18 a.m.: Another cookie wouldn’t hurt.
10:25 a.m.: Saruman is hatching an army. Well, actually, he’s growing soldiers, plucking them out of the ground like huge, evil-looking carrots. The imagery makes me hungry, but two cookies is my limit.
11:34 a.m.: Poor ring-bearing Frodo. In the past hour, he’s been stabbed, skewered, held upside-down by a gigantic octopus and, just now, had to make a death-defying leap across the chasm of Ultimate Doom. C’mon, guys. At this rate, Frodo’s never going to make it through another nine hours.
11:36 a.m.: Take your King Kongs, your Godzillas, your T-Rexes. For my money, the most wicked-looking movie monster ever has got to be that horned, flaming Balrog.
12:10 p.m.: Does anyone else think it strange that, with so many natural wonders and ancient ruins in Middle-earth, no one ever runs into a park ranger?
12:30 p.m.: “Fellowship” is done, and I’m feeling just dandy. This movie-marathon thing is a snap. Now that I’ve lost feeling in my butt, I can go for days.
12:45 p.m.: I start “The Two Towers” and chow down my lunch — a plate of pizza rolls.
12:55 p.m.: Gollum — everybody’s favorite pale, anorexic, computer-generated character — shows up and starts making trouble with Frodo and his best bud, Sam Gamgee. You know what they say: Two’s company . . .
2:43 p.m.: All this stationary viewing is hard work. I wish I could take a walk. Maybe I will. Over to the cookie jar.
3:04 p.m.: My kingdom for a nap. Better yet, Peter Jackson’s kingdom for a nap.
3:30 p.m.: My youngest child is home from school. I nod in her general direction and ask her to fetch me a cookie.
3:35 p.m.: In watching these movies straight through, I’m getting a sense of deja-vu. I see a girl huddled in the caves below Helm’s Deep that, just hours before, was a little Hobbit at Bilbo’s birthday part. Is she an exchange student?
3:42 p.m.: Talking treethings are holding a meeting. One of them says “We never say anything unless it is worth taking a long time to say.” I betcha Peter Jackson has that line hanging up on his bulletin board somewhere.
4:24 p.m.: “The Two Towers” ends in gloomy fashion — fitting my mood. My head is throbbing, my tailbone is sore and I think I’ve eaten too many cookies. To top it off, I’m concerned the tree in my front yard might decide to walk off. Or worse, eat one of the neighbors.
4:37 p.m.: I start “Return of the King.” Only four hours, 11 minutes to go.
4:41 p.m.: It’s sad and moving to watch Frodo progress from a happy little Hobbit to a ring junkie. The transformation strikes me harder now, it seems.
5:30 p.m.: I know Minas Morgul is supposed to be the second-most evil place in all of Middle-earth. But that emerald green glow makes it look like the MGM Grand Hotel in Las Vegas. I can almost hear the Orcs playing the slots inside.
5:39 p.m.: Hey, another battle! Imagine! Now, I have nothing against a little fabricated blood and death, but even I have my limits. In Middleearth, the leading cause of work absenteeism is beheading.
5:40 p.m.: The mountaintop beacons are lit. It’s probably the first time those beaconlighters have had anything to do in ages. Man, that’s a job I’d hate: Just sitting around, not doing anything, hour after hour . . .
6:11 p.m.: There’s that little girl again — only she’s in Minas Tirith! She’s no exchange student; she’s either an enemy spy or Peter Jackson’s granddaughter.
7:06 p.m.: That giant spider looks more realistic than some real spiders I’ve seen. Or is that just my 10 hours with these movies talking?
7:46 p.m.: Chaos breaks out among the enemy, and Orcs are beheading one another with abandon. One of them looks like Ron Artest.
7:51 p.m.: As much as I’ve liked these movies, I’ve always been disappointed that Sauron, embodiment of all evil, is really just a huge, bus-sized eyeball. It seems like Frodo could’ve saved everyone a lot of trouble — and me a lot of time — if he had just packed a BB gun.
8:11 p.m.: Oh, stop with the “No, Sam, I can’t recall the taste of water” shtick. Just climb to the top of Mount Doom already!
8:22 p.m.: Sam and Frodo take care of that pesky ring. Now they must endure another quest: meandering through the movie’s 16 endings.
8:49 p.m.: It’s really, truly “The End,” and thank goodness. I’m tired, cranky and headache-y, and I swear I’ll never eat another chocolatechip cookie again.
It (the marathon, not the cookie) was worth it. The films do carry more oomph when viewed together. The characters develop more fully, the story line progresses more coherently.
But I don’t plan on doing it again any time soon. At least not for another week or so.
By PAUL ASAY THE GAZETTE
J.R.R. Tolkien was annoyed when his publishers refused to meld his fantasy epic, “Lord of the Rings,” into one huge book. Director Peter Jackson sympathizes. He thinks of his Oscarwinning adaptations of “Rings” as one huge movie — albeit one originally released with yearlong intermissions. The movies hit theaters in December 2001, 2002 and 2003 respectively.
To honor the intent of Tolkien and Jackson — and with no new “Rings” movie to keep me occupied — I decided to settle into my sofa and watch all three “Lord of the Rings” movies in succession.
We’re talking the extended versions, here, including the new “Return of the King,” which was released Dec. 14, just hours before my Middle-earth marathon began. The movie’s release marked the first time geeks like me could spend a full day in Middle-earth.
You could watch Disney’s “Sleeping Beauty” three times before the credits would roll for “Return of the King.” Put all three together, and you’ve got an 11-hour, 22-minute feature, which makes the 3-hour, 58-minute “Gone With the Wind” look like a throwaway lark in comparison.
Admittedly, I’m a fan of the “Rings” movies.
But 11 hours and 22 minutes? It’s enough to challenge even the hardiest of couch potatoes. Would the experience make me swear off the movies forever? Would it break my sanity? Would it make my feet grow big and hairy?
Should I stretch first?
Tuesday, 12:02 a.m.: I blearily weave into a local Media Play store to pick up my reserved copy of “Return of the King.”
I’m a latecomer.
According to a Media Play official, at least 10 copies were picked up and purchased in the 120 seconds before I arrived. About a half-dozen sweatshirted, 20-something guys are loitering in the store, gently caressing their blue “Return of the King” boxes. It might be my imagination, but one appears to be muttering “my precious” under his breath.
9:06 a.m.: I start “Fellowship of the Ring.”
9:30 a.m.: Less than 30 minutes into the first film, I realize I should’ve bought a bigger television for the marathon. Maybe I could’ve expensed it.
10:16 a.m.: I’ve been sitting for more than an hour. It’s hard work, and I need to keep up my strength. I grab a chocolate-chip cookie.
10:18 a.m.: Another cookie wouldn’t hurt.
10:25 a.m.: Saruman is hatching an army. Well, actually, he’s growing soldiers, plucking them out of the ground like huge, evil-looking carrots. The imagery makes me hungry, but two cookies is my limit.
11:34 a.m.: Poor ring-bearing Frodo. In the past hour, he’s been stabbed, skewered, held upside-down by a gigantic octopus and, just now, had to make a death-defying leap across the chasm of Ultimate Doom. C’mon, guys. At this rate, Frodo’s never going to make it through another nine hours.
11:36 a.m.: Take your King Kongs, your Godzillas, your T-Rexes. For my money, the most wicked-looking movie monster ever has got to be that horned, flaming Balrog.
12:10 p.m.: Does anyone else think it strange that, with so many natural wonders and ancient ruins in Middle-earth, no one ever runs into a park ranger?
12:30 p.m.: “Fellowship” is done, and I’m feeling just dandy. This movie-marathon thing is a snap. Now that I’ve lost feeling in my butt, I can go for days.
12:45 p.m.: I start “The Two Towers” and chow down my lunch — a plate of pizza rolls.
12:55 p.m.: Gollum — everybody’s favorite pale, anorexic, computer-generated character — shows up and starts making trouble with Frodo and his best bud, Sam Gamgee. You know what they say: Two’s company . . .
2:43 p.m.: All this stationary viewing is hard work. I wish I could take a walk. Maybe I will. Over to the cookie jar.
3:04 p.m.: My kingdom for a nap. Better yet, Peter Jackson’s kingdom for a nap.
3:30 p.m.: My youngest child is home from school. I nod in her general direction and ask her to fetch me a cookie.
3:35 p.m.: In watching these movies straight through, I’m getting a sense of deja-vu. I see a girl huddled in the caves below Helm’s Deep that, just hours before, was a little Hobbit at Bilbo’s birthday part. Is she an exchange student?
3:42 p.m.: Talking treethings are holding a meeting. One of them says “We never say anything unless it is worth taking a long time to say.” I betcha Peter Jackson has that line hanging up on his bulletin board somewhere.
4:24 p.m.: “The Two Towers” ends in gloomy fashion — fitting my mood. My head is throbbing, my tailbone is sore and I think I’ve eaten too many cookies. To top it off, I’m concerned the tree in my front yard might decide to walk off. Or worse, eat one of the neighbors.
4:37 p.m.: I start “Return of the King.” Only four hours, 11 minutes to go.
4:41 p.m.: It’s sad and moving to watch Frodo progress from a happy little Hobbit to a ring junkie. The transformation strikes me harder now, it seems.
5:30 p.m.: I know Minas Morgul is supposed to be the second-most evil place in all of Middle-earth. But that emerald green glow makes it look like the MGM Grand Hotel in Las Vegas. I can almost hear the Orcs playing the slots inside.
5:39 p.m.: Hey, another battle! Imagine! Now, I have nothing against a little fabricated blood and death, but even I have my limits. In Middleearth, the leading cause of work absenteeism is beheading.
5:40 p.m.: The mountaintop beacons are lit. It’s probably the first time those beaconlighters have had anything to do in ages. Man, that’s a job I’d hate: Just sitting around, not doing anything, hour after hour . . .
6:11 p.m.: There’s that little girl again — only she’s in Minas Tirith! She’s no exchange student; she’s either an enemy spy or Peter Jackson’s granddaughter.
7:06 p.m.: That giant spider looks more realistic than some real spiders I’ve seen. Or is that just my 10 hours with these movies talking?
7:46 p.m.: Chaos breaks out among the enemy, and Orcs are beheading one another with abandon. One of them looks like Ron Artest.
7:51 p.m.: As much as I’ve liked these movies, I’ve always been disappointed that Sauron, embodiment of all evil, is really just a huge, bus-sized eyeball. It seems like Frodo could’ve saved everyone a lot of trouble — and me a lot of time — if he had just packed a BB gun.
8:11 p.m.: Oh, stop with the “No, Sam, I can’t recall the taste of water” shtick. Just climb to the top of Mount Doom already!
8:22 p.m.: Sam and Frodo take care of that pesky ring. Now they must endure another quest: meandering through the movie’s 16 endings.
8:49 p.m.: It’s really, truly “The End,” and thank goodness. I’m tired, cranky and headache-y, and I swear I’ll never eat another chocolatechip cookie again.
It (the marathon, not the cookie) was worth it. The films do carry more oomph when viewed together. The characters develop more fully, the story line progresses more coherently.
But I don’t plan on doing it again any time soon. At least not for another week or so.
Friday, December 17, 2004
Eric's Adventure - Especially for Carol!
More random silliness as I count down the minutes until Winter Break officially begins:
Eric's Adventure
Follow the link for an amazing adventure. :) Then if you want more, go to the Eric Conveys an Emotion Site on my sidebar.
Eric's Adventure
Follow the link for an amazing adventure. :) Then if you want more, go to the Eric Conveys an Emotion Site on my sidebar.
Wednesday, December 15, 2004
Questionaire on a lot of my blog friends' blogs so I thought I'd join the fun:
WHAT COLOR ARE YOUR KITCHEN PLATES? white with light blue, and transparent, and white with green
2. WHAT BOOK ARE YOU READING NOW? Nothing, I finished Istikhara and a Trek book, haven't started another
3. WHAT'S ON YOUR MOUSE PAD? at work it is a CSEA (union) pad with the union logo and here at home it is Wile e Coyote and the Road Runner
4. FAVOURITE BOARD GAME? This great early 80's game called Dark Tower!
5. FAVORITE MAGAZINE? At the newstand I might buy Discovery or Scientific American. I get Entertainment Magazine in the mail because I bought a DVD at this store one time and they automatically signed me up for a free subscription. But, I have to abashedly admit it is kind of a fun read.
6. FAVORITE SMELL? a good men's cologne, or freshly cut grass, or the smell after a clean rain.
7. LEAST FAVORITE SMELL? sour milk or something spoiled
8. WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU THINK OF WHEN YOU WAKE UP IN THE MORNING? Bismillah.
9. FAVORITE COLOR? I like different colors for different things. I tend to like blues. I also like true reds. And I love ashgray t-shirts.
10. LEAST FAVORITE COLOR? Peach, or terra cotta on something that has no business being terra cotta.
11. HOW MANY RINGS BEFORE YOU ANSWER THE PHONE? I don't answer it unless I know who's calling, usually.
12. FUTURE CHILD'S NAME? I'm thinking 'Ali or Abdullah. For a girl I just don't know!
13. WHAT IS MOST IMPORTANT IN LIFE? To remember that it ends and then we are called to account.
14. CHOCOLATE OR VANILLA ICE-CREAM? definitely chocolate.
15. DO YOU LIKE TO DRIVE FAST? Yes.
16. DO YOU SLEEP WITH A STUFFED ANIMAL? Sometimes.
17. STORMS - COOL OR SCARY? They always scared me if they were loud when I was growing up. They still make me nervous, but sometimes they're beautiful.
18. WHAT TYPE WAS YOUR FIRST CAR? 1981 Oldsmobile Omega.
19. IF YOU COULD MEET ONE PERSON DEAD OR ALIVE? Fatima (as) or Khadija (ra)
20. FAVORITE DRINK? diet soda, soy milk, milk, water
21. WHAT IS YOUR BIRTHDAY? it is the day that I was born, of course. :) just playing (9/30/74)
22. DO YOU EAT THE STEMS OF BROCCOLI? Usually not. I'm not a big fan of broccoli, especially if it is cooked. I can eat it raw but I never want broccoli.
23. IF YOU COULD HAVE ANY JOB WHAT WOULD IT BE? I like teaching, but I'd give myself the ideal class and ideal school and ideal administration, etc. Or I'd get paid to teach online stuff or write online stuff that I would've done anyway.
24. IF YOU COULD HAVE ANY COLOR HAIR? I can, I just pick a different scarf! I saw this cool bright purple die at Sally's with my mom the other day for streaks. That'd be fun, but I don't want really want to mess with my hair, I'd go for something more realistic.
25. IS THE GLASS HALF FULL OR HALF EMPTY? half full
26. FAVORITE MOVIE? Bourne Identity, Thunderheart, LOTR trilogy, Zoolander,....
27. DO YOU TYPE WITH YOUR FINGERS ON THE RIGHT KEYS? yes. If you don't you seriously need to take a typing class! :)
28. THE BEACH OR THE MOUNTAINS? Mountains!!!!!
29. WHAT'S UNDER YOUR BED? A dresser. A few empty shoe boxes. Maybe a cat.
31. WHAT IS YOUR SINGLE BIGGEST FEAR? Punishment in the afterlife or in the grave
32. SAY ONE NICE THING ABOUT THE PERSON WHO SENT THIS TO YOU.
I kind of grabbed it off someone's blog, but all the friends who had it on their blogs are just that - great friends.
33. FAVORITE CD. I don't know.
34. FAVORITE TV SHOWS? CSI, Mythbusters, History Detectives, miscellaneous TLC/Discovery stuff
35. KETCHUP OR MUSTARD? definitely mustard
36. HAMBURGERS OR HOT DOGS? either. If I'm cooking it, halal hot dogs because it is easier. If I'm at a cook out and I can choose, then a halal hamburger sounds good right now.
37. FAVORITE SOFT DRINK? diet dr. pepper
39. THE BEST PLACES YOU HAVE EVER BEEN? Prophet's (saw) Mosque, and the Haram Mosque, British Columbia, and right here in my house.
40. WHAT SCREEN SAVER IS ON YOUR COMPUTER RIGHT NOW? work: none, home: SETI@Home
41. BURGER KING OR MCDONALD'S? Neither. If they were halal and not on boycott lists, McDonald's. If I'm with my mom or brother and they're going, then Burger King for the veggie burger.
42. PERSON MOST LIKELY TO RESPOND? Maybe Derek.
2. WHAT BOOK ARE YOU READING NOW? Nothing, I finished Istikhara and a Trek book, haven't started another
3. WHAT'S ON YOUR MOUSE PAD? at work it is a CSEA (union) pad with the union logo and here at home it is Wile e Coyote and the Road Runner
4. FAVOURITE BOARD GAME? This great early 80's game called Dark Tower!
5. FAVORITE MAGAZINE? At the newstand I might buy Discovery or Scientific American. I get Entertainment Magazine in the mail because I bought a DVD at this store one time and they automatically signed me up for a free subscription. But, I have to abashedly admit it is kind of a fun read.
6. FAVORITE SMELL? a good men's cologne, or freshly cut grass, or the smell after a clean rain.
7. LEAST FAVORITE SMELL? sour milk or something spoiled
8. WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU THINK OF WHEN YOU WAKE UP IN THE MORNING? Bismillah.
9. FAVORITE COLOR? I like different colors for different things. I tend to like blues. I also like true reds. And I love ashgray t-shirts.
10. LEAST FAVORITE COLOR? Peach, or terra cotta on something that has no business being terra cotta.
11. HOW MANY RINGS BEFORE YOU ANSWER THE PHONE? I don't answer it unless I know who's calling, usually.
12. FUTURE CHILD'S NAME? I'm thinking 'Ali or Abdullah. For a girl I just don't know!
13. WHAT IS MOST IMPORTANT IN LIFE? To remember that it ends and then we are called to account.
14. CHOCOLATE OR VANILLA ICE-CREAM? definitely chocolate.
15. DO YOU LIKE TO DRIVE FAST? Yes.
16. DO YOU SLEEP WITH A STUFFED ANIMAL? Sometimes.
17. STORMS - COOL OR SCARY? They always scared me if they were loud when I was growing up. They still make me nervous, but sometimes they're beautiful.
18. WHAT TYPE WAS YOUR FIRST CAR? 1981 Oldsmobile Omega.
19. IF YOU COULD MEET ONE PERSON DEAD OR ALIVE? Fatima (as) or Khadija (ra)
20. FAVORITE DRINK? diet soda, soy milk, milk, water
21. WHAT IS YOUR BIRTHDAY? it is the day that I was born, of course. :) just playing (9/30/74)
22. DO YOU EAT THE STEMS OF BROCCOLI? Usually not. I'm not a big fan of broccoli, especially if it is cooked. I can eat it raw but I never want broccoli.
23. IF YOU COULD HAVE ANY JOB WHAT WOULD IT BE? I like teaching, but I'd give myself the ideal class and ideal school and ideal administration, etc. Or I'd get paid to teach online stuff or write online stuff that I would've done anyway.
24. IF YOU COULD HAVE ANY COLOR HAIR? I can, I just pick a different scarf! I saw this cool bright purple die at Sally's with my mom the other day for streaks. That'd be fun, but I don't want really want to mess with my hair, I'd go for something more realistic.
25. IS THE GLASS HALF FULL OR HALF EMPTY? half full
26. FAVORITE MOVIE? Bourne Identity, Thunderheart, LOTR trilogy, Zoolander,....
27. DO YOU TYPE WITH YOUR FINGERS ON THE RIGHT KEYS? yes. If you don't you seriously need to take a typing class! :)
28. THE BEACH OR THE MOUNTAINS? Mountains!!!!!
29. WHAT'S UNDER YOUR BED? A dresser. A few empty shoe boxes. Maybe a cat.
31. WHAT IS YOUR SINGLE BIGGEST FEAR? Punishment in the afterlife or in the grave
32. SAY ONE NICE THING ABOUT THE PERSON WHO SENT THIS TO YOU.
I kind of grabbed it off someone's blog, but all the friends who had it on their blogs are just that - great friends.
33. FAVORITE CD. I don't know.
34. FAVORITE TV SHOWS? CSI, Mythbusters, History Detectives, miscellaneous TLC/Discovery stuff
35. KETCHUP OR MUSTARD? definitely mustard
36. HAMBURGERS OR HOT DOGS? either. If I'm cooking it, halal hot dogs because it is easier. If I'm at a cook out and I can choose, then a halal hamburger sounds good right now.
37. FAVORITE SOFT DRINK? diet dr. pepper
39. THE BEST PLACES YOU HAVE EVER BEEN? Prophet's (saw) Mosque, and the Haram Mosque, British Columbia, and right here in my house.
40. WHAT SCREEN SAVER IS ON YOUR COMPUTER RIGHT NOW? work: none, home: SETI@Home
41. BURGER KING OR MCDONALD'S? Neither. If they were halal and not on boycott lists, McDonald's. If I'm with my mom or brother and they're going, then Burger King for the veggie burger.
42. PERSON MOST LIKELY TO RESPOND? Maybe Derek.
Sunday, December 12, 2004
Magnanimity
From Principles of Upbringing by ibrahim Amini:
The Prophet of Islam (saw) said:
“A generous person is closer to Allah’s creations and the Heaven. He is away from the Hell. The miserly person is away from Allah, His creations ( the men) and the Heaven. But he is closer to the Hell Fire." (al-mahajjatul bayda,v 3, p. 248)
Parents can make use of the following guidelines for cultivating the habits of generosity and magnanimity in their children:
1. Encourage the child to give a part of the things he has to the parents and his other siblings. The child must be suitably praised for the generous act and thanked. .In the beginning the child may be reluctant to part with his possession, but, by and by, he will get into the habit of being generous. When the child is reluctant for this experiment, he should not be forced into giving. This might make the child stubborn.
2. Sometimes encourage the child to allow other children to play with his toys. The child should also be encouraged to share his sweets and chocolates with other children. When he does it, give him a pat on his back.
3. Sometimes encourage him to give a part of his pocket money to the poor and the needy. Or ask him to spend some money for any good cause. If this becomes a habit, it would have a salutary effect on the character of the child as he grows up.
4. Ask the child to invite his friends home for a meal and see that he entertains them with care.
5. The parents can give some money to the child everyday to be given as alms or for some good cause.
6. Discuss with the child the difficulties and hardships of poor people. If possible take him along with you to the hospital, the orphanage and the home for the poor and aged. In his presence help some needy persons.
This way the child can be initiated into the habit of generosity. We, however, cannot claim that this method will work on all the children. The parents should make their best efforts and the success can differ from child to child. Every individual has his own nature and the capacity to accept change. For the children their habits also come as a genetic factor inherited from generation to generation. But careful breeding can definitely have some good effect.
A lady writes in a letter thus:
“…. At a pleasant place we had an orchard. Different varieties of fruits used to grow there in abundance. My Mom and Granny used to send some fruits to the needy. They were particularly generous to such of those needy persons who were serving our family. They used to entrust this task to me. From the age of six or seven years I got into the habit of doing this work. In the village there were families of two blind persons. My heart used to feel much for them. Every day when I visited them, I used to catch their hands, bring them out for some fresh air and take them back to their homes. .I used to bring fresh water for them from the lake. These blind men used to bless me and pray for me. When I told my Mom and Dad about this, they were very pleased. My mom said, one who has become blind is really deserving of all help.
My parents always used to encourage me for doing good deeds. I used to save from my pocket money and give to the needy. Slowly I got habituated of doing this. I am now a member of a social help organisation that is taking care of fourteen needy families.
My children too have taken good effect from my attitude. One day a child said,’ Give me some money every morning.’ I asked him, ‘ Why?’ he said, ‘ I shall save this money’ I give him the money regularly and remind him not to waste it. After some days he came to me with his treasure-trove. He had forty-eight coins in that. He said, ‘ Momif you permit me, I shall give the money to a blind person. He lives on the way to our school.’ I was very pleased with the child and I kissed and hugged him.”
The Prophet of Islam (saw) said:
“A generous person is closer to Allah’s creations and the Heaven. He is away from the Hell. The miserly person is away from Allah, His creations ( the men) and the Heaven. But he is closer to the Hell Fire." (al-mahajjatul bayda,v 3, p. 248)
Parents can make use of the following guidelines for cultivating the habits of generosity and magnanimity in their children:
1. Encourage the child to give a part of the things he has to the parents and his other siblings. The child must be suitably praised for the generous act and thanked. .In the beginning the child may be reluctant to part with his possession, but, by and by, he will get into the habit of being generous. When the child is reluctant for this experiment, he should not be forced into giving. This might make the child stubborn.
2. Sometimes encourage the child to allow other children to play with his toys. The child should also be encouraged to share his sweets and chocolates with other children. When he does it, give him a pat on his back.
3. Sometimes encourage him to give a part of his pocket money to the poor and the needy. Or ask him to spend some money for any good cause. If this becomes a habit, it would have a salutary effect on the character of the child as he grows up.
4. Ask the child to invite his friends home for a meal and see that he entertains them with care.
5. The parents can give some money to the child everyday to be given as alms or for some good cause.
6. Discuss with the child the difficulties and hardships of poor people. If possible take him along with you to the hospital, the orphanage and the home for the poor and aged. In his presence help some needy persons.
This way the child can be initiated into the habit of generosity. We, however, cannot claim that this method will work on all the children. The parents should make their best efforts and the success can differ from child to child. Every individual has his own nature and the capacity to accept change. For the children their habits also come as a genetic factor inherited from generation to generation. But careful breeding can definitely have some good effect.
A lady writes in a letter thus:
“…. At a pleasant place we had an orchard. Different varieties of fruits used to grow there in abundance. My Mom and Granny used to send some fruits to the needy. They were particularly generous to such of those needy persons who were serving our family. They used to entrust this task to me. From the age of six or seven years I got into the habit of doing this work. In the village there were families of two blind persons. My heart used to feel much for them. Every day when I visited them, I used to catch their hands, bring them out for some fresh air and take them back to their homes. .I used to bring fresh water for them from the lake. These blind men used to bless me and pray for me. When I told my Mom and Dad about this, they were very pleased. My mom said, one who has become blind is really deserving of all help.
My parents always used to encourage me for doing good deeds. I used to save from my pocket money and give to the needy. Slowly I got habituated of doing this. I am now a member of a social help organisation that is taking care of fourteen needy families.
My children too have taken good effect from my attitude. One day a child said,’ Give me some money every morning.’ I asked him, ‘ Why?’ he said, ‘ I shall save this money’ I give him the money regularly and remind him not to waste it. After some days he came to me with his treasure-trove. He had forty-eight coins in that. He said, ‘ Momif you permit me, I shall give the money to a blind person. He lives on the way to our school.’ I was very pleased with the child and I kissed and hugged him.”
Wednesday, December 01, 2004
Sharing
Sharing a few things I've encountered in the past few days:
I am as My servant thinks I am.
I am with him when he makes mention of Me.
If he makes mention of Me to himself, I make mention
of him to Myself;
and if he makes mention of Me in an assembly, I make
mention of him in an assemble better than it.
And if he draws near to Me an arm's length, I draw
near to him a fathom's length.
And if he comes to Me walking, I go to him at speed.
- a Hadith Qudsi (from Allah swt)
Right of the Tongue:
What Corrupts The Tongue
Researches in ethics say that there is a cause of corruption for everything. The tongue is not an exception to this. Many things will corrupt it. At this point i will mention one of them
Arguing
The Noble Prophet (sawa) said:
"You cannot attain full faith unless you quit verbal arguments even if you are right."
He also said:
"whoever knows he is right but quits arguing shall be given a residence in a high heavenly place.
Whoever knows that he is wrong and quits arguing shall be given a residence in a low heavenly place"
(From the book A divine perspective on Rights, Imam a-Sajjad, commented by
Ghodratullah Mashayekhi, pg72)
Also check out Ninhajaba's blog (link on my sidebar) - there have been great things going on there lately, masha'allah.
I am as My servant thinks I am.
I am with him when he makes mention of Me.
If he makes mention of Me to himself, I make mention
of him to Myself;
and if he makes mention of Me in an assembly, I make
mention of him in an assemble better than it.
And if he draws near to Me an arm's length, I draw
near to him a fathom's length.
And if he comes to Me walking, I go to him at speed.
- a Hadith Qudsi (from Allah swt)
Right of the Tongue:
What Corrupts The Tongue
Researches in ethics say that there is a cause of corruption for everything. The tongue is not an exception to this. Many things will corrupt it. At this point i will mention one of them
Arguing
The Noble Prophet (sawa) said:
"You cannot attain full faith unless you quit verbal arguments even if you are right."
He also said:
"whoever knows he is right but quits arguing shall be given a residence in a high heavenly place.
Whoever knows that he is wrong and quits arguing shall be given a residence in a low heavenly place"
(From the book A divine perspective on Rights, Imam a-Sajjad, commented by
Ghodratullah Mashayekhi, pg72)
Also check out Ninhajaba's blog (link on my sidebar) - there have been great things going on there lately, masha'allah.
Wednesday, November 24, 2004
Diary of a Wimpy Kid
I would like to call your attention to a link down in my fun links section that is particular good, imho.
Diary of a Wimpy Kid is essentially a fictional journal / blog of a 7th grader. It is hilarious and makes lots of good points.
For example, if you read next week's entries, you can get a classic example of a bad teacher. His English teacher reminds me of my 3rd grade teacher, Mrs. Moody. She is just about the only teacher in my whole K-12 career that made me mad. Every year she read Little House on the Prairie Books to her classes. Instead of reading to us, she usually just complained to us about how bad we were so that she never had time to read us. Excuse me, we're third graders - that's your classroom management problem and telling us about it does nothing to solve it. Then, one day a parent came to talk to her during class. So she left the class area into the hallway. I can't say she left the classroom, because we were an open concept school and we didn't have classrooms. All third grade classes were in one large open area divided only by cubby shelves. Same for every other grade except Kindergarten, which actually had two separate rooms. But kindergarten had some overlapping space - namely the centers (fun!) and the pit - a literal pit in the ground where we met for story time, etc. The library also had a pit. How I loved the pit - it was just cool! In kindergarten, the pit was associated with the filly milly box, a box that if we were good we got to reach into and pull out a prize to take home - like pink plastic butterfly magnets or spider rings!
I guess people think the open concept is weird, but having grown up in it we never found a problem with it and liked it. We were not distracted by the other classes but we did know when they had specials like art or music and when their lunch and recess times were and if they got in really big trouble. But other than that, we were too busy in our classes to know what they were doing. It did kind of unite us - we thought of ourselves as a grade as a whole instead of a bunch of separate classes exclusively. I'm a person who likes to see the big picture - so I liked knowing what was going on in the other classes yet it never distracted me. At the same time, that is why I like living in Colorado - you look outside and you can actually SEE WHERE YOU ARE and where you are going - not like those annoying places out east where you'd need to burn down a forest to get a lay of the land. I feel claustrophobic driving on those highways out there where there is nothing to look at but the road and even then you can't see but 400 yards of road in front of you because it turns every few seconds.
Back to Ms. Moody and the parent. While she left, we had nothing to do. So, we talked. We were not way out of hand, we were not throwing things, we were not out of our seats. Well, when she came back she threw a hissy fit and went on a tirade about how awful we were for talking while she was talking to the parent. Then she did the dumbest thing imaginable. She asked third graders to tattle on each other and tell her who were the main culprits. Well, duh, we were all talking. But, no, she let people raise their hands, she picked some of them to call on, and then that kid got to tell one someone and say they were talking. And once your name was given up by someone, you were not allowed to give any names to her because that would be retaliation. Obviously, my name was given or I probably wouldn't remember this at the age of 30. There were kids who had been talking more loudly or whatever who did not get called. Those of us who were given up had to stay after school, where she went on about how bad we were and how we would lose centers and recess for a week and how we needed to write letters to our parents about what we did. Then she looked right at me, singled me out, and said how she knew my mother and knew how disappointed my mother would be. I was probably in tears by this point. When I met my mom later, I told her what happened and she thought exactly what I thought, that it was ridiculous. I didn't get angry until later because up to that point in my life teachers could do no wrong. I had always practically worshipped my teachers and been a really good student. I stayed that way, but she became an exception to the rule in my book. The statement she said to me about my mother was totally false. She didn't really know my mother and I knew my mother would not think it was that big of a deal and be disappointed in me, and she wasn't.
So go read Diary of a Wimpy Kid starting here Day 86
to read about a Ms. Moody - like teacher, then if you like it you may find yourself going back to read from the first day of the journal.
Diary of a Wimpy Kid is essentially a fictional journal / blog of a 7th grader. It is hilarious and makes lots of good points.
For example, if you read next week's entries, you can get a classic example of a bad teacher. His English teacher reminds me of my 3rd grade teacher, Mrs. Moody. She is just about the only teacher in my whole K-12 career that made me mad. Every year she read Little House on the Prairie Books to her classes. Instead of reading to us, she usually just complained to us about how bad we were so that she never had time to read us. Excuse me, we're third graders - that's your classroom management problem and telling us about it does nothing to solve it. Then, one day a parent came to talk to her during class. So she left the class area into the hallway. I can't say she left the classroom, because we were an open concept school and we didn't have classrooms. All third grade classes were in one large open area divided only by cubby shelves. Same for every other grade except Kindergarten, which actually had two separate rooms. But kindergarten had some overlapping space - namely the centers (fun!) and the pit - a literal pit in the ground where we met for story time, etc. The library also had a pit. How I loved the pit - it was just cool! In kindergarten, the pit was associated with the filly milly box, a box that if we were good we got to reach into and pull out a prize to take home - like pink plastic butterfly magnets or spider rings!
I guess people think the open concept is weird, but having grown up in it we never found a problem with it and liked it. We were not distracted by the other classes but we did know when they had specials like art or music and when their lunch and recess times were and if they got in really big trouble. But other than that, we were too busy in our classes to know what they were doing. It did kind of unite us - we thought of ourselves as a grade as a whole instead of a bunch of separate classes exclusively. I'm a person who likes to see the big picture - so I liked knowing what was going on in the other classes yet it never distracted me. At the same time, that is why I like living in Colorado - you look outside and you can actually SEE WHERE YOU ARE and where you are going - not like those annoying places out east where you'd need to burn down a forest to get a lay of the land. I feel claustrophobic driving on those highways out there where there is nothing to look at but the road and even then you can't see but 400 yards of road in front of you because it turns every few seconds.
Back to Ms. Moody and the parent. While she left, we had nothing to do. So, we talked. We were not way out of hand, we were not throwing things, we were not out of our seats. Well, when she came back she threw a hissy fit and went on a tirade about how awful we were for talking while she was talking to the parent. Then she did the dumbest thing imaginable. She asked third graders to tattle on each other and tell her who were the main culprits. Well, duh, we were all talking. But, no, she let people raise their hands, she picked some of them to call on, and then that kid got to tell one someone and say they were talking. And once your name was given up by someone, you were not allowed to give any names to her because that would be retaliation. Obviously, my name was given or I probably wouldn't remember this at the age of 30. There were kids who had been talking more loudly or whatever who did not get called. Those of us who were given up had to stay after school, where she went on about how bad we were and how we would lose centers and recess for a week and how we needed to write letters to our parents about what we did. Then she looked right at me, singled me out, and said how she knew my mother and knew how disappointed my mother would be. I was probably in tears by this point. When I met my mom later, I told her what happened and she thought exactly what I thought, that it was ridiculous. I didn't get angry until later because up to that point in my life teachers could do no wrong. I had always practically worshipped my teachers and been a really good student. I stayed that way, but she became an exception to the rule in my book. The statement she said to me about my mother was totally false. She didn't really know my mother and I knew my mother would not think it was that big of a deal and be disappointed in me, and she wasn't.
So go read Diary of a Wimpy Kid starting here Day 86
to read about a Ms. Moody - like teacher, then if you like it you may find yourself going back to read from the first day of the journal.
Wednesday, November 10, 2004
If NCLB were applied to football...
Football Season - "No Child Left Behind"
The Federal government has announced that all high school football teams
must meet "No Child Left Behind" legislation beginning next season. The
following summation outlines the plan:
1. No team will be declared a winner, as that will leave 50% of other
participants behind.
2. All high schools will be divided into districts with eight teams per
district. Every team must finish in at least third place to be proficient.
3. No tournaments will be held as this would result in one champion. (The BCS experimented with this concept in NCAA D-1 football.)
4. All teams must make the state playoffs, and all will win the
championship. If a team does not win the championship, they will be on
probation until they are the champions, and coaches will be held
accountable. (In a recent experiment, the University of Nebraska football
program modeled this theory.)
5. All teams must score at least 21 points, but no defense can allow more
than 7 points.
6. All participants will be expected to have the same football skills at
the same time and in the same conditions; no exceptions for interest in
football, desire in athletics, genetic abilities or disabilities... ALL
CHILDREN WILL PLAY FOOTBALL AT A PROFICIENT LEVEL!
7. Talented players will be asked to work out on their own without
instruction, because the coaches will be busy using all their instructional
time with the athletes that aren't interested in football, having limited
athletic ability, and whose parents don't like football.
8. Games will be played year-around, but statistics and records will only
be kept in the 4th, 8th, and 11th games.
9. This will create a NEW AGE of sports where every school is expected
to have the same level of talent and all teams will reach the same minimal
goals. If no child gets ahead, then no child will be left behind.
The Federal government has announced that all high school football teams
must meet "No Child Left Behind" legislation beginning next season. The
following summation outlines the plan:
1. No team will be declared a winner, as that will leave 50% of other
participants behind.
2. All high schools will be divided into districts with eight teams per
district. Every team must finish in at least third place to be proficient.
3. No tournaments will be held as this would result in one champion. (The BCS experimented with this concept in NCAA D-1 football.)
4. All teams must make the state playoffs, and all will win the
championship. If a team does not win the championship, they will be on
probation until they are the champions, and coaches will be held
accountable. (In a recent experiment, the University of Nebraska football
program modeled this theory.)
5. All teams must score at least 21 points, but no defense can allow more
than 7 points.
6. All participants will be expected to have the same football skills at
the same time and in the same conditions; no exceptions for interest in
football, desire in athletics, genetic abilities or disabilities... ALL
CHILDREN WILL PLAY FOOTBALL AT A PROFICIENT LEVEL!
7. Talented players will be asked to work out on their own without
instruction, because the coaches will be busy using all their instructional
time with the athletes that aren't interested in football, having limited
athletic ability, and whose parents don't like football.
8. Games will be played year-around, but statistics and records will only
be kept in the 4th, 8th, and 11th games.
9. This will create a NEW AGE of sports where every school is expected
to have the same level of talent and all teams will reach the same minimal
goals. If no child gets ahead, then no child will be left behind.
Sunday, November 07, 2004
Tongue
Yesterday I had IMP training in Denver. It was a small group but good training as always. I have AP Statistics training next Saturday in Denver as well. Maybe I won't carpool to that one so that I could try to go to the meat store to get some halal meat - it has been quite a while since I've had meat. But we'll see. If it is still the month of Ramadan Saturday, that will put me up to 8 days I'll need to make up. Maybe this year I'll actually do it right after Eid. Well, I always say that but don't often do it. I am disappointed with myself over how I did on Laylatul Qadr amaals. I just conked out. I've also had trouble focusing this year. Astaghfirullah.
from the book "A Divine Perspective On Rights" Imam Sajjad Ali Ibn al-Hussein(as)
On your tongue (strange looking word):
And the right of the tongue is that you consider it too noble for obscenity, accustom it to good, direct it to politeness, do not use it except in situations of needs and benefits of the religion and this world, and refrain from any meddling in which there is little to be gained; and there is no security from its harm that accompanies its small benefits. It is the witness to and the evidence of the existence of the intellect. The demonstration of a intelligent person's intellect is through his reputation of good speech. And there is no power but in God the High, the Great.
"A man is hidden behind his tongue"
The tongue will unveil the curtain and display our real character.
from the book "A Divine Perspective On Rights" Imam Sajjad Ali Ibn al-Hussein(as)
On your tongue (strange looking word):
And the right of the tongue is that you consider it too noble for obscenity, accustom it to good, direct it to politeness, do not use it except in situations of needs and benefits of the religion and this world, and refrain from any meddling in which there is little to be gained; and there is no security from its harm that accompanies its small benefits. It is the witness to and the evidence of the existence of the intellect. The demonstration of a intelligent person's intellect is through his reputation of good speech. And there is no power but in God the High, the Great.
"A man is hidden behind his tongue"
The tongue will unveil the curtain and display our real character.
Friday, October 29, 2004
More on the Venetucci Legacy
Well here's a family that was into marrying late. I doubt I'll be driving past the Venetucci farm on my way to work every day in a few years. I hope the Catholic church that they dedicated their land to makes it a nice place. I wonder if they are waiting until Bambi passes away? Apparently none of the other sons had children or at least not boys to carry on the family name?
Venetucci family ties still bind
By BILL VOGRIN - THE GAZETTE
When the bronze statue of Nick Venetucci is dedicated Saturday morning amid speeches and song, missing will be Mary Ann Feiring — the last Venetucci.
The ceremony Saturday will honor five decades of generosity by Venetucci, who became legendary for giving pumpkins to area children who visited his Security farm. He died Sept. 7 at age 93 of a massive stroke.
His death leaves only Feiring, 81, the youngest child and sole survivor of Nicolo and Marguarite Venetucci, a pioneering Italian immigrant farming couple who both died in 1961.
Besides Nick, Feiring had a sister, Nina, and four other brothers, Rocco, Mike, Joe and Tony. All are dead.
Feiring wants to attend the ceremony and represent the family. But she said her health is too frail to travel from her home in San Marcos, Calif.
“I’ll be thinking about the ceremony,” Feiring said. “Definitely.”
Truth is, even if she could travel, Feiring isn’t sure her presence would be appropriate after years of strained relationships within her family.
The cause of the rift?
In 1957, at age 34, she ran off with her boyfriend, got married and moved to Texas.
She said her family couldn’t accept her husband, Duane Feiring, because he was a non-Italian, non-Catholic, divorced man.
Strike one. Strike two. Strike three.
“They never would have approved ” Feiring said. “They had a feeling that I deserted them. But I wanted my own little girls so bad I could scream.”
She said it was expected within the family that she’d stay and work on the farm alongside her brothers, cooking, cleaning and taking care of them and her parents.
Feiring wanted more. She said she realized that, at her age, her chances of getting married and having a family were dwindling.
Then, like a fairy tale, Duane Feiring entered her life.
The memory is vivid in her mind.
In fact, decades seem to melt away, and she is instantly back in the 10-room farmhouse along U.S. 85-87 where the family moved in 1936 after farming for years in Papeton, an enclave of Italian coal miners. The area now is the Venetian Village neighborhood near Fillmore Street and Nevada Avenue.
Feiring recalled that her Singer sewing machine had broken as she patched a pair of her brother’s overalls.
So she went to town to the Singer Co. store, on Tejon Street at Colorado Avenue, on a Saturday evening to buy a belt for the machine.
“Duane came out of the back room and asked: ‘Have you seen our new sewing machine and vacuum sweeper?’” she said. “He was quite a salesman.”
Feiring wasn’t interested, though, and left with her new belt.
“On Monday, I’m doing the family wash . . . and he showed up with that new sewing machine and vacuum sweeper,” she said. “Duane said it gave him an excuse to come back and see me.”
A year later, in June 1957, Singer promoted him to district manager. But the district was in Texas.
“It was either I join him or forget I ever knew him,” she said.
So she married him and went with him to Texas.
Eventually, they bought a restaurant in Seattle in 1974 and retired to California in 1982. They have two daughters and five grandchildren.
Before she married and moved to Texas, Mary Ann introduced Nick to her friend, Bambi Marcantonio, who was teaching at the Colorado School for the Deaf and the Blind.
After a 27-year courtship, Nick and Bambi were married in 1984.
Feiring is uncomfortable talking about family issues. Despite the rift, she stayed in close touch with her parents, sister and brothers. She said they even reconciled as the years passed.
“I saw them when I came back and talked to them on the phone,” she said. “I saw Tony at the retirement home before he died, and there were no hard feelings. I was still his little sister.”
She last saw Nick in 1997 when she came for a long visit. She said her memories of the family are happy.
“I have fond remembrances,” she said. “We had lots of family gatherings. I think of those good old days. I live with those memories.”
Feiring takes pride in the way the Venetucci family is honored across the city with an elementary school and a boulevard, and now with a statue of Nick.
There is comfort knowing the farmhouse where she cooked over a wood and coal stove, its walls lined with family photos, still remains — hardly changed from when she packed her bags and left to follow her heart.
Even the sewing machine — which led her to the love of her life — still sits where she left it 47 years ago, kind of like a statue of its own, honoring the struggles of a farm family.
Which brings her back to Saturday’s ceremony and her pride at the honors being bestowed on Nick.
“I’d be there if I could,” she said, her voice trailing off. “I sure hope you have a nice day for it.”
THE DETAILS
The bronze statue of pumpkin farmer Nick Venetucci will be unveiled and dedicated at 11 a.m. Saturday on the north lawn of the Pioneers Museum, 215 S. Tejon St.
The public is invited.
There will be a flag presentation, singing, and speeches by Vice Mayor Richard Skorman, Widefield School District 3 Superintendent Mark Hatchell and Bambi Venetucci.
Venetucci family ties still bind
By BILL VOGRIN - THE GAZETTE
When the bronze statue of Nick Venetucci is dedicated Saturday morning amid speeches and song, missing will be Mary Ann Feiring — the last Venetucci.
The ceremony Saturday will honor five decades of generosity by Venetucci, who became legendary for giving pumpkins to area children who visited his Security farm. He died Sept. 7 at age 93 of a massive stroke.
His death leaves only Feiring, 81, the youngest child and sole survivor of Nicolo and Marguarite Venetucci, a pioneering Italian immigrant farming couple who both died in 1961.
Besides Nick, Feiring had a sister, Nina, and four other brothers, Rocco, Mike, Joe and Tony. All are dead.
Feiring wants to attend the ceremony and represent the family. But she said her health is too frail to travel from her home in San Marcos, Calif.
“I’ll be thinking about the ceremony,” Feiring said. “Definitely.”
Truth is, even if she could travel, Feiring isn’t sure her presence would be appropriate after years of strained relationships within her family.
The cause of the rift?
In 1957, at age 34, she ran off with her boyfriend, got married and moved to Texas.
She said her family couldn’t accept her husband, Duane Feiring, because he was a non-Italian, non-Catholic, divorced man.
Strike one. Strike two. Strike three.
“They never would have approved ” Feiring said. “They had a feeling that I deserted them. But I wanted my own little girls so bad I could scream.”
She said it was expected within the family that she’d stay and work on the farm alongside her brothers, cooking, cleaning and taking care of them and her parents.
Feiring wanted more. She said she realized that, at her age, her chances of getting married and having a family were dwindling.
Then, like a fairy tale, Duane Feiring entered her life.
The memory is vivid in her mind.
In fact, decades seem to melt away, and she is instantly back in the 10-room farmhouse along U.S. 85-87 where the family moved in 1936 after farming for years in Papeton, an enclave of Italian coal miners. The area now is the Venetian Village neighborhood near Fillmore Street and Nevada Avenue.
Feiring recalled that her Singer sewing machine had broken as she patched a pair of her brother’s overalls.
So she went to town to the Singer Co. store, on Tejon Street at Colorado Avenue, on a Saturday evening to buy a belt for the machine.
“Duane came out of the back room and asked: ‘Have you seen our new sewing machine and vacuum sweeper?’” she said. “He was quite a salesman.”
Feiring wasn’t interested, though, and left with her new belt.
“On Monday, I’m doing the family wash . . . and he showed up with that new sewing machine and vacuum sweeper,” she said. “Duane said it gave him an excuse to come back and see me.”
A year later, in June 1957, Singer promoted him to district manager. But the district was in Texas.
“It was either I join him or forget I ever knew him,” she said.
So she married him and went with him to Texas.
Eventually, they bought a restaurant in Seattle in 1974 and retired to California in 1982. They have two daughters and five grandchildren.
Before she married and moved to Texas, Mary Ann introduced Nick to her friend, Bambi Marcantonio, who was teaching at the Colorado School for the Deaf and the Blind.
After a 27-year courtship, Nick and Bambi were married in 1984.
Feiring is uncomfortable talking about family issues. Despite the rift, she stayed in close touch with her parents, sister and brothers. She said they even reconciled as the years passed.
“I saw them when I came back and talked to them on the phone,” she said. “I saw Tony at the retirement home before he died, and there were no hard feelings. I was still his little sister.”
She last saw Nick in 1997 when she came for a long visit. She said her memories of the family are happy.
“I have fond remembrances,” she said. “We had lots of family gatherings. I think of those good old days. I live with those memories.”
Feiring takes pride in the way the Venetucci family is honored across the city with an elementary school and a boulevard, and now with a statue of Nick.
There is comfort knowing the farmhouse where she cooked over a wood and coal stove, its walls lined with family photos, still remains — hardly changed from when she packed her bags and left to follow her heart.
Even the sewing machine — which led her to the love of her life — still sits where she left it 47 years ago, kind of like a statue of its own, honoring the struggles of a farm family.
Which brings her back to Saturday’s ceremony and her pride at the honors being bestowed on Nick.
“I’d be there if I could,” she said, her voice trailing off. “I sure hope you have a nice day for it.”
THE DETAILS
The bronze statue of pumpkin farmer Nick Venetucci will be unveiled and dedicated at 11 a.m. Saturday on the north lawn of the Pioneers Museum, 215 S. Tejon St.
The public is invited.
There will be a flag presentation, singing, and speeches by Vice Mayor Richard Skorman, Widefield School District 3 Superintendent Mark Hatchell and Bambi Venetucci.
Tuesday, October 12, 2004
Coronado on MTV
My high school is featured on a show on MTV airing right now. It is about a senior prank to close school two years ago. If you're interested it airs at the following times (all times Eastern): Tue 10/12 4:00 PM Wed 10/13 4:00 PM Thu 10/14 4:00 PM Fri 10/15 12:30 AM Fri 10/15 1:00 AM Fri 10/15 1:30 AM Fri 10/15 4:00 PM Sat 10/16 3:00 AM Sat 10/16 3:30 AM Sat 10/16 4:00 AM Sat 10/16 4:30 AM Sat 10/16 5:00 AM Sat 10/16 5:30 AM Sat 10/16 7:00 AM Sat 10/16 7:30 AM Sat 10/16 8:00 AM Sun 10/17 7:00 AM Sun 10/17 7:30 AM Sun 10/17 8:00 AM Sun 10/17 8:30 AM Mon 10/18 4:00 PM Tue 10/19 4:00 PM
Superman
Oct 12, 1:56 PM EDT
Reeve Championed Spinal Cord Research
By MARILYNN MARCHIONE
AP Medical Writer
Christopher Reeve often said he wanted to be known for something other than playing Superman. But it was real life - not another movie role - that gave the actor the chance to star in his biggest drama: as a spinal cord injury victim championing research in hope that people like him would someday be able to walk again.
"He put a human face on the dreams," said Daniel Perry, president of the Coalition for the Advancement of Medical Research. "He used his star power as a celebrity for a great good that transcends anything that most of us will ever achieve."
Reeve died Sunday after developing a serious bloodstream infection from a bedsore, a common problem for paralyzed people. He went into cardiac arrest Saturday at his home in Pound Ridge, N.Y., then fell into a coma, dying the next day at a hospital.
As an actor and a man, Reeve embodied strength and athleticism and performed his own movie stunts, including his 1978 starring role as Superman. It made him famous but he longed to, as he often put it, "escape the cape" and take on other characters.
Other movies and plays gave him that chance, but nothing compared to the horseback riding accident in 1995 that left him with a broken neck. His passionate efforts for science, often as he wheezed from a respirator in his wheelchair, are his greatest legacy, admirers said. Reeve never walked again but his dream of doing so is now a plausible one for thousands of others who are paralyzed.
"The biggest hope is in biological research to allow the spinal cord to heal itself and even regenerate. That's just over the horizon but closer than ever before. Most people feel within the next 10 to 15 years, somewhere within our lifetimes," said Dr. Jack Ziegler, president of the American Spinal Injury Association.
Some even thought it would come in time for Reeve.
"I thought it was going to happen," said Dr. Doug Kerr, a Johns Hopkins University neurologist who works with stem cells - controversial research that Reeve advocated.
"It was Star Wars science fiction, this concept of rewiring the nervous system," but Reeve "thrust this field forward by leaps and bounds," Kerr said.
Reeve endured years of therapy to allow him to breathe for longer periods without a respirator while seeking a cure that would allow him to walk again. He sparked hope even in many skeptics in 2000, when he was able to move an index finger. He thrust himself harder into workouts to strengthen his legs and arms, and electrical stimulation of his muscles allowed him to sporadically regain sensation in some other parts of his body.
As Reeve transformed his body, he also morphed into an advocate, first for better benefits for people with long-term disabilities, and then for science to help the 250,000 Americans who suffer paralysis. The Christopher Reeve Paralysis Foundation has given $40 million to spinal cord research since he merged it with the American Paralysis Foundation in 1999.
Some of that has been for embryonic stem cell research, a promising but contentious field of medicine that the Bush administration has severely restricted because it involves destroying embryos. Scientists think these early, all-purpose cells can be coaxed to form nerves and specialized tissues to repair a host of woes.
Reeve and fellow actor Michael J. Fox, who has Parkinson's disease, have helped make stem cells a major campaign issue between President Bush and Sen. John Kerry. Kerry even mentioned Reeve during the second presidential debate on Friday and praised him Monday in remarks before a speech in Santa Fe, N.M.
"He was an inspiration to all of us and gave hope to millions of Americans who are counting on lifesaving cures that science and research can provide," Kerry said. "In part because of his work, millions will one day walk again."
At Hopkins, research a few years ago demonstrated that stem cells could allow paralyzed mice and rats to do just that.
"This is one of the most difficult tasks you can ask a stem cell to do - to rewire, to extend axons and to form new connections at great distances to restore function," said Kerr. "We're clearly getting there."
Reeve "appropriately brought a sense of urgency to this issue," said Perry head of the research coalition, which favors stem cell science. "On Capitol Hill he was such a highly regarded figure and was so focused on the message."
A research center on paralytic spinal cord injuries, the Reeve-Irvine Research Center, was established in Reeve's name at the University of California, Irvine.
"He was such an immense personality, such a force in the field," said Dr. Oswald Stewart, the center's director. "He created an enthusiasm for what we do in the lab."
Reeve also reached out to people beyond those with spinal cord injuries.
"He was able to inspire hope in patients with diabetes, Alzheimer's, cancer, Parkinson's disease, Lou Gehrig's disease ... tragic and life-threatening conditions that face tens of millions of Americans," Perry said.
© 2004 The Associated Press.
Reeve Championed Spinal Cord Research
By MARILYNN MARCHIONE
AP Medical Writer
Christopher Reeve often said he wanted to be known for something other than playing Superman. But it was real life - not another movie role - that gave the actor the chance to star in his biggest drama: as a spinal cord injury victim championing research in hope that people like him would someday be able to walk again.
"He put a human face on the dreams," said Daniel Perry, president of the Coalition for the Advancement of Medical Research. "He used his star power as a celebrity for a great good that transcends anything that most of us will ever achieve."
Reeve died Sunday after developing a serious bloodstream infection from a bedsore, a common problem for paralyzed people. He went into cardiac arrest Saturday at his home in Pound Ridge, N.Y., then fell into a coma, dying the next day at a hospital.
As an actor and a man, Reeve embodied strength and athleticism and performed his own movie stunts, including his 1978 starring role as Superman. It made him famous but he longed to, as he often put it, "escape the cape" and take on other characters.
Other movies and plays gave him that chance, but nothing compared to the horseback riding accident in 1995 that left him with a broken neck. His passionate efforts for science, often as he wheezed from a respirator in his wheelchair, are his greatest legacy, admirers said. Reeve never walked again but his dream of doing so is now a plausible one for thousands of others who are paralyzed.
"The biggest hope is in biological research to allow the spinal cord to heal itself and even regenerate. That's just over the horizon but closer than ever before. Most people feel within the next 10 to 15 years, somewhere within our lifetimes," said Dr. Jack Ziegler, president of the American Spinal Injury Association.
Some even thought it would come in time for Reeve.
"I thought it was going to happen," said Dr. Doug Kerr, a Johns Hopkins University neurologist who works with stem cells - controversial research that Reeve advocated.
"It was Star Wars science fiction, this concept of rewiring the nervous system," but Reeve "thrust this field forward by leaps and bounds," Kerr said.
Reeve endured years of therapy to allow him to breathe for longer periods without a respirator while seeking a cure that would allow him to walk again. He sparked hope even in many skeptics in 2000, when he was able to move an index finger. He thrust himself harder into workouts to strengthen his legs and arms, and electrical stimulation of his muscles allowed him to sporadically regain sensation in some other parts of his body.
As Reeve transformed his body, he also morphed into an advocate, first for better benefits for people with long-term disabilities, and then for science to help the 250,000 Americans who suffer paralysis. The Christopher Reeve Paralysis Foundation has given $40 million to spinal cord research since he merged it with the American Paralysis Foundation in 1999.
Some of that has been for embryonic stem cell research, a promising but contentious field of medicine that the Bush administration has severely restricted because it involves destroying embryos. Scientists think these early, all-purpose cells can be coaxed to form nerves and specialized tissues to repair a host of woes.
Reeve and fellow actor Michael J. Fox, who has Parkinson's disease, have helped make stem cells a major campaign issue between President Bush and Sen. John Kerry. Kerry even mentioned Reeve during the second presidential debate on Friday and praised him Monday in remarks before a speech in Santa Fe, N.M.
"He was an inspiration to all of us and gave hope to millions of Americans who are counting on lifesaving cures that science and research can provide," Kerry said. "In part because of his work, millions will one day walk again."
At Hopkins, research a few years ago demonstrated that stem cells could allow paralyzed mice and rats to do just that.
"This is one of the most difficult tasks you can ask a stem cell to do - to rewire, to extend axons and to form new connections at great distances to restore function," said Kerr. "We're clearly getting there."
Reeve "appropriately brought a sense of urgency to this issue," said Perry head of the research coalition, which favors stem cell science. "On Capitol Hill he was such a highly regarded figure and was so focused on the message."
A research center on paralytic spinal cord injuries, the Reeve-Irvine Research Center, was established in Reeve's name at the University of California, Irvine.
"He was such an immense personality, such a force in the field," said Dr. Oswald Stewart, the center's director. "He created an enthusiasm for what we do in the lab."
Reeve also reached out to people beyond those with spinal cord injuries.
"He was able to inspire hope in patients with diabetes, Alzheimer's, cancer, Parkinson's disease, Lou Gehrig's disease ... tragic and life-threatening conditions that face tens of millions of Americans," Perry said.
© 2004 The Associated Press.
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