“Of course, you have to love any sport in which your very survival depends on clowns.”
— The always wonderful Dan Neil in Cowboy Down, 800 words about professional bull riding, the next NASCAR.
Another line: “It’s the most red-state, culturally conservative, sponsor-friendly milieu in pro athletics—few are the riders who don’t take a knee in a moment of showy post-ride, thank-you-Jesus piety. That is, if they still have a knee.”
Richard Cohen wrote this column week before last. It took quite a hit in blogland, but I took a pass. I bring it up here, because of the math quiz (next item).
I am haunted by Gabriela Ocampo. Last year, she dropped out of the 12th grade at Birmingham High School in Los Angeles after failing algebra six times in six semesters, trying it a seventh time and finally just despairing over ever getting it. So, according to the Los Angeles Times, she “gathered her textbooks, dropped them at the campus book room and, without telling a soul, vanished from Birmingham High School.”
Gabriela, this is Richard: There’s life after algebra.
The key point Cohen goes on to make is: “Here’s the thing, Gabriela: You will never need to know algebra. I have never once used it and never once even rued that I could not use it.”
While NewMexiKen is certainly saddened by the story of Gabriela Ocampo, Richard Cohen makes no sense. I feel fairly certain I have relied upon the reasoning I learned in Algebra most days of my life. Further, I doubt I could code this blog without the patterns algebra teaches.
But more importantly, what kind of school (what kind of society) lets a kid flunk a class six times? Learn more here. The incomparable Daily Howler addresses the Gabriela issue as well, in a three part series starting with A brilliant report in the L. A. Times begins with a child left behind
| You Passed 8th Grade Math |
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Update: NewMexiKen did some homework and then took the test again: 10/10!
And NBC can blame only itself. For years it has packaged the international sporting event as a made-in-America variety show, so overselling the personalities and melodrama that it is sometimes hard to distinguish the Games from any other prime-time fare. The weepy triumph-over-adversity vignettes (mothers with failing kidneys, dead grandmothers, home schooling in New Hampshire) are now so common on television that NBC’s profiles of athletes, minireality shows tarted up with gauzy camera work and stirring soundtracks, look like something on ABC, “Extreme Makeover: Turin Edition.”
Alessandra Stanley in a review of the Olympic coverage entitled, ‘Idol’ Is What the Televised Olympics Try to Be, and There’s No Curling.
“[S]o painfully unfunny he was almost dental.”
James Wolcott talking about some of the sad cast of characters who replaced Don Knotts in Mayberry on “The Andy Griffith Show.”
“George Bush in the flight suit on that carrier was Bode Miller in the Nike ads before the Olympics, all image and promise. No substance and sacrifice, no guts and inner fire.”
Tom Watson in an entry entitled The President and Mr. Miller.
“If you look, in fact, at emergency room statistics, you’ll see that more people are admitted every year for non-dog bites than dog-bites–which is to say that when you see a Pit Bull, you should worry as much about being bitten by the person holding the leash than the dog on the other end.”
Sorry, too many generations of fearing wolves in my genes to buy this.
Girl: Why don’t you just make a list of things I need to change about myself so I can be more like you?
Guy: Okay, let’s start with your tooth brushing. How about rinsing off the toothbrush before you put it back into the cabinet so there is not old toothpaste and spit dripping off of it? And how about rinsing after you brush?
Girl: Anything else?
Guy: No, I think that’s the only thing you need to change about yourself.
–88th & Amsterdam
Eh, if that’s it she might be a keeper.
A charming essay about her grandmother from The (liberal)Girl Next Door. She begins:
My grandmother will be having her 8oth birthday this summer, and to look at her or spend any time with her, that fact would surely shock you. She still rides her bike daily, still bowls with her girlfriends and loves to go out dancing. She’s a beautiful, vibrant woman who reads her local paper each morning, watches the national news each night and has an opinion on just about everything. When I look at her, I can’t help but hope I am glimpsing my own future. Some day I want to be a beautiful 80 year-old woman who still cares what happens to the world around me.
She’s a saucy little activist too. Last summer when there was so much talk of mosquitoes spreading West Nile Virus, she noticed a clogged drain on her bike route that was causing a rather large pool of standing water. She contacted the city, but still the pool sat and the mosquitoes multiplied. She took matters into her own hands. She made a sign that read “WARNING, West Nile Virus Breeding Ground!” nailed it to a wooden stake, strapped it on her bike and rode to the spot and hammered her warning into the ground. Needless to say, in a matter of days the drain was fixed and the water was gone. Ask her about it and she’ll likely say, “Well Jesus, there were kids playing all around there. This town is run by idiots.” You go Nana!
“My old man never liked me. He gave me my allowance in traveler’s checks.”
… was designated on this date in 1919. It became Acadia National Park in 1929.
Located on the rugged coast of Maine, Acadia National Park encompasses over 47,000 acres of granite-domed mountains, woodlands, lakes and ponds, and ocean shoreline. Such diverse habitats create striking scenery and make the park a haven for wildlife and plants.
Entwined with the natural diversity of Acadia is the story of people. Evidence suggests native people first lived here at least 5,000 years ago. Subsequent centuries brought explorers from far lands, settlers of European descent, and, arising directly from the beauty of the landscape, tourism and preservation.
Attracted by the paintings and written works of the “rusticators,” artists who portrayed the beauty of Mount Desert Island in their works, the affluent of the turn of the century flocked to the area. Though they came in search of social and recreational activities, these early conservationists had much to do with preserving the landscape we know today. George B. Dorr, the park’s first superintendent, came from this social strata. He devoted 43 years of his life, energy, and family fortune to preserving the Acadia landscape. Thanks to the foresight of Dorr and others like him, Acadia became the first national park established east of the Mississippi.
From McSweeney’s Internet Tendency.
Excuse me if I’m being presumptuous, but I assume that you, as a parent, are aware of the declining literacy rate in this country. This can be blamed on what I call O-verexposure: too many tots feeding on a single letter, instead of on the entire alphabet banquet. I offer the glorious triple-pronged E, the delightfully asymmetrical Q, even the commercially co-opted X. These are the building blocks of words, communication—dare I say, of civilization itself.
That, of course, would be part of the argument made by Alpha-Bits.
Thanks to V. for the link.
… was so designated on this date in 1929.
Located in northwestern Wyoming, Grand Teton National Park protects spectacular mountain scenery and a diverse collection of wildlife. The central feature of the park — the Teton Range — is a 40-mile-long mountain front rising from the valley floor some 6,000 feet. The towering Tetons were formed from earthquakes that occurred over the past 13 million years along a fault line. The jagged range includes its signature peak — Grand Teton, 13,770 feet (4,198 m) — and at least twelve pinnacles over 12,000 feet (3,658 m). Seven morainal lakes adorn the base of the range, and more than 100 alpine lakes dot the backcountry.
Elk, moose, mule deer, bison and pronghorn, are commonly found in the park. Black bears roam the forests and canyons, while grizzlies range throughout more remote portions of the park. More than 300 species of birds can be observed, including bald eagles, peregrine falcons and trumpeter swans.
… was so designated on this date in 1919.
The Grand Canyon is more than a great chasm carved over millennia through the rocks of the Colorado Plateau. It is more than an awe-inspiring view. It is more than a pleasuring ground for those who explore the roads, hike the trails, or float the currents of the turbulent Colorado River.
This canyon is a gift that transcends what we experience. Its beauty and size humble us. Its timelessness provokes a comparison to our short existence. In its vast spaces we may find solace from our hectic lives. The Grand Canyon we visit today is a gift from past generations.
… of Betty Hutton. The actress is 85. She was Annie Oakley in the eponymous 1950 film, and the trapeze artist who saves the circus in The Greatest Show on Earth.
… of Antoine “Fats” Domino. The Rock and Roll Hall of Famer is 78 — and he still Wants to Walk You Home.
… of Mitch Ryder. He’s 61. No report on the ages of the Detroit Wheels.
… of Michael Bolton. The singer is 53. The computer programmer’s age in Office Space isn’t known.
… of Jennifer Grant. Cary Grant and Dyan Cannon’s daughter is 40.
Take The Week Quiz.
NewMexiKen scored nine correct out of ten this week!
Historical videos from the U.S. National Archives now at Google Video. Includes newsreels and government films, including several from the Department of the Interior (national parks, Indian country, reclamation).
Shortly after WWII, an American went to visit Picasso in his Paris studio and asked, “How does it feel to be Picasso, the master of the art?” The artist replied, “Give me a dollar bill.” The American complied, and Picasso signed his name on it. “There, that dollar is now worth $500. That’s how it feels to be Picasso.”
Actor Abe Vigoda is 85 today, more than 20 years after his death was reported by People. If you use Firefox, you might want to add the Abe Vigoda Status Extension to be kept continually posted on Abe’s well-being.
Happy birthday, Mr. Vigoda. And many more.
… of Abe Vigoda. Fish on Barney Miller and Sal Tessio of The Godfather is 85.
… of Steven Hill. Adam Schiff on Law and Order is 84.
… of Dominic Chianese. Uncle Junior on The Sopranos is 75.
“Some people skate to Romeo and Juliet, but she is Juliet.”
NBC’s Sandra Bezic on Sasha Cohen.
“Dick Button wants to be both Simon Cowell and Paula Abdul.”
Adapted from comment by Emily, official younger daughter of NewMexiKen, on the long-time figure skating analyst Dick Button. He’s always either gushed or ranted.
From Bill Plaschke of the Los Angeles Times on silver-medalist Sasha Cohen:
“I think I was not nervous, but apprehensive, knowing that I missed a lutz and flip in the warmup,” she said. “You know, when you go out there and have all the people watching — and you know that your practice hasn’t gone completely right, it’s hard to feel like you’re getting churros at Disneyland.”
Hard for silver medalists, perhaps, but easy for champions.
When their team is trailing by a basket in the final seconds, champions want the ball. Just ask Michael Jordan.
When their team trails by two runs in the bottom of the ninth, champions want the bat. Just ask Derek Jeter.
When the going gets tough, for champions, that is Disneyland.
The legacy of Sasha Cohen is that she sees it differently, and thus America will see her differently.
Once thought to be Tim Duncan, she is instead Chris Webber.
Once destined to be Joe Montana, she is instead Peyton Manning.
Looks great in everything but sweat.
It’s an interesting column.
The past two evenings NewMexiKen has been ignoring the Winter Olympics (and American Idol, if it’s even on) to watch DVDs. I’ve made some good choices, choosing two complex but rewarding films.
Last night it was 21 Grams with Sean Penn, Benicio Del Toro and Naomi Watts. This movie has perhaps the most convulted chronology of any film I’ve ever seen (The Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind nothwithstanding.) The dramatic story and the extraordinary acting of all three — and others — is, I think, greatly harmed as a result of this shuffling of time. It’s not that it’s so difficult to figure out what happens (happened); rather one simply asks why not just tell the story that way. The filmmaker’s art is important, but it should not be more important than the film itself. Still, the performances are remarkable, and the film is provocative.
The Constant Gardener stars Ralph Fiennes and Rachel Weisz (nominated for the best supporting actress Oscar). Last September when I first saw this film I wrote that it, “is a gripping, harrowing film adapted from John le Carre’s novel of corporate greed and political corruption set in Kenya. Fiennes is superb as the too timid British diplomat and Rachel Weisz brilliant as his radical wife Tessa.” I stand by that assessment, and if anything I liked this film better the second time through. I haven’t seen the Oscar-nominated performances for best actor, but Fiennes surely deserved to be included. Excellent.
So now I’ll go watch the women figure skaters (preferably with the commentary off). NewMexiKen was able to view the 1994 Winter Olympics women’s skating finals on Russian TV. (The Nancy Kerrigan/Tonya Harding year.) It was wonderful. The single commentator (speaking in Russian, of course) was low key and generally quiet, but the ambient noises of the crowd, the music and skates on ice could be heard well. Every performance was shown in its entirety, one after the other. It was incredible, almost like being there.
Update: Actually NBC did a nice job in its coverage, especially of the last six skaters.
An autisitic high school senior in Rochester, New York, gets into his school’s basketball game and lights it up. Autistic Teen’s Hoop Dreams Come True.
Link is to written report, but watching the video (on that page) is better.
Link via Three Bed, Two Bath.