Elegies-Sextus Propertius

It's been some time since I've written a new post. Tell me, has absence made the heart grow fonder? This quote has been resonating with me lately, It seems so ridiculous. That five days should feel so long. I'm missing all of our beloved school a fair deal right now. And can't wait to return tomorrow! I've survived yet another Thanksgiving, only a little worse for the wear. As usual I over ate myself to the point of illness, this was of course encouraged, read forced, by those select members of my family that believe I'm far too thin, at near six foot and weighing not quite one hundred and thirty pounds, I'm defiantly on the skinny side, but no where near an unhealthy extreme. I wonder what has happened to the body imaging of our society if my weight is viewed as unhealthily skinny, I eat when I'm hungry, and stop when I'm full. That's kinda how it's supposed to work, right? On a more pleasant tangent, A tree has been erected in my living room, and the halls have been decked. That's right, Christmas is in full bloom here in my household. Currently I'm listening to The Trans-Siberian Orchestra, and trying to get the more annoying carols out of my head. It's quite late so I'm off to bed, Guten Nacht.

3/?

Coming on the 29th OhGr will be at Station 4, in downtown saint Paul. It's unfortunately an 18+ show, but I'll be trying to go anyways. Station 4 is a small venue, with a range of musical groups booked, including a large concert starting on December 6, entitled The Next Big Thing, a compilation of up and coming bands, and singular artists. Station 4, while a bit on the small time is a decent venue, with a good location.

The controversies of sexual education

That schools are encourage, read mandated, you teach abstinence only sex ed, is completely ridiculous. I think it's fairly obvious that this system isn't working, just look at the number of teen pregnancies, and the rapid spread of sexually transmitted diseases. I'm not sure abstinence only was ever an effective teaching method, but if it was, it certainly isn't any more , this is one thing that really needs to change.

A Generation of Standardized Testing.

I view this generations dependence on standardized testing to determine achievement, as a major step in the wrong direction. Each student is going to learn something different from each lesson, and this knowledge isn't going to be reflected in a standardized test, which is sadly about one of two things, either how well you've memorized the random tidbits of information, or how well you can bullshit answers. I've always been good at standardized testing, not because I necessarily know the material, but because I can test well. Most multiple choice questions have two possible answers that can be eliminated almost immediately as incorrect, giving you a 50/50 chance of being right off the bat. Is it really fair to be assessing students on what could be compared to a chance flip of a coin? A student who knows next to nothing on the material has a chance of scoring just as well as a student that has actually put some time into preparing for the test. While a student with an in depth understanding of the abstract concept and it's applications, may not test well due to the stressful nature of these tests. Does this really sound like a good system of measuring achievement?

Post 2/?

In an attempt to make the events in the metro area, Minneapolis.about.com post a monthly calender, covering events and festivals upcoming in the metro area. While this calender is a helpful resource, it barely scratches the surface of whats going on, focusing on larger events that are already pretty well advertised, the upside to this is they post all these events in an easy to browse forum, giving you a good visual of the upcoming month.

Research Project Post 1/?

I have recently been assigned to dedicate some of my blogging time to a research project. I've decided to do this on the culture and climate of the St.Paul/ Minneapolis area. Even after living here for several years, the diversity of cultural scenes and events, has a tendency to startle me, and I always discover some interesting event, days after its completion. This is not to say that I'm a social hermit, it just indicates the sheer scope of social events. I've fond it impossible to stay on top of the social scene here, but it's been one hell of a ride trying. In the next few days, I'll be compiling any form of blog or venue site listing local events. My time today has been spent on Thrifty Hipster- Minneapolis and Saint Paul. A helpful little site listing other helpful sites for planning an evening out. Covering modes of transportation, event's, and resources for pretty much anything else.

Recent trends in hair care.

I've noticed recently that a new trend in hair care regiments is emerging, by this I'm of course talking about that group of crusty tweens, and neo-hippies, that believe leaving your hair unwashed is an acceptable method of styling. Unless your goal is to create a miniature ecosystem on your head, its really not working, for you or anyone forced to witness this travesty of hair care and hygiene, either wash it, or chop it off. The planet and its inhabitants will thank you.