Hoops

Sundays with Sean

Tue, 21 May 2013 11:50:58 -0400

Every Sunday, my little brother calls to tell me about his soccer game.

His simple brilliance has been recorded and rearranged.

May 19

I was culpable for the second goal
I sliced my clearance into their striker.
It fell nicely. He couldn’t miss.
They scored. It was my fault.

Also, can you hear Ti?
He got his teeth cleaned, so he’s whining.
I’m trying to pet him to sleep.

jhnmyr: myfroggylife: Personal Canon: “How Crayons Are...

Fri, 10 May 2013 20:39:46 -0400

jhnmyr:

myfroggylife:

Personal Canon: “How Crayons Are Made”

On Episode 8 of the 11th season of Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood, Mister Rogers showed us a film that has always stuck with me—and which has stuck with many of you, too—about how crayons are made. Mister Rogers’ show was always so calm and informative and direct that it pulled you right into it, and that power has not lessened decades later. This segment has, for whatever reason, fascinated many of us ever since we first saw it. I have never been in a conversation about Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood where this segment didn’t get brought up in the first five minutes.

You can watch the six minute segment here on PBS.com.

I absolutely remember watching this when it aired… It’s stuck with me ever since, too…

The best episodes of Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood were like being babysat by your grandpa and playing with trains and puppets and a watching a little bit of How It’s Made.

thekidshouldseethis: Inspired by Joey Ramone’s posthumous love...

Fri, 03 May 2013 06:06:29 -0400

thekidshouldseethis:

Inspired by Joey Ramone’s posthumous love letter to New York City, directed by Greg Jardin, high school student Kevin Chiu spent two months taking 1991 photos of 140 Hunter College HS peers and teachers to create his own stop-motion homage.

More (The Hunter Pixilation Project) is scored to the song Leaves by Cheers Elephant.

Enjoy the video inspiration, too:

Thanks, Kevin.

Well that was pretty bad ass.

dstod: On Your Porch by The Format Love this song. This song...

Sat, 27 Apr 2013 10:29:48 -0400

dstod:

On Your Porch by The Format

Love this song.

This song does things.

colormecurvy: I hate the phrase “boys will be boys” and I think it should be replaced with “bad...

Mon, 22 Apr 2013 20:01:15 -0400

colormecurvy:

I hate the phrase “boys will be boys” and I think it should be replaced with “bad parenting results in assholes”

OMG Langley High School.

Weird little containers of ancient awesome.

Sun, 21 Apr 2013 19:42:46 -0400

Weird little containers of ancient awesome.

A "Decent" Man is Hard to Find

Mon, 15 Apr 2013 15:10:00 -0400

Note: this is for a high school audience (just in case you A: actually read this, and B: are wondering who “you” is supposed to be).

Anyhow.

One of the perks of being irretrievably uncool is that it liberates you to do all sorts of things that you might not ordinarily do. My television habits have and will always be an example of this. For instance, there’s this fantastic old show about a Korean War Army hospital called M*A*S*H that used to have quite the following (in the 70s and 80s, but never mind that). It was basically a commentary on war, suffering, humor, and the relationship between those three things. As I read stories about teenagers and sex crimes like the one in Steubenville, OH, I flash back to one episode involving a character nicknamed “Radar.”

Radar was essentially everybody’s little brother in the hospital. In one episode, he confides to his idol, a womanizing and hard-drinking surgeon named Hawkeye, about his perceived lack of savvy with women. In the tone of a confessional, he tells Hawkeye that when he hangs out with some of the other soldiers at the local bar, “some of the guys start talking to some of the business girls. And well, I feel sort of funny.” Hawkeye asks Radar for clarification on “sort of funny,” and Radar simply says, “I feel sleepy.”

Hawkeye reassures Radar that what he’s suffering from is just a “normal case of decency,” and although he doesn’t out and out say it, the message is that just because he doesn’t want to spend his downtime with other servicemen funding the local prostitution ring, there’s nothing wrong with him. In fact, Hawkeye tells Radar that someday he’ll meet a girl he likes enough to introduce to his mom, and that when that happens, he won’t get sleepy.

Now, part of what I love about M*A*S*H is that although it was sometimes saccharine, it was never not appropriate. I bet Trent Mays and Ma’lik Richmond, of Steubenville rape trial infamy, would have scoffed their heads off at Radar and all people like him just a short while ago. But now Mays and Richmond are convicted sex offenders and examples to the rest of the world of how not to behave.

My contempt for people like Mays and Richmond is such that I wish that the world were full of Radars. If that were the case, no man would ever rape a woman. We would no longer read news briefs telling women to avoid poorly lit areas at night, or to have their keys and cellphones ready in case a strange man accosts them. We would no longer worry about our sisters, friends, wives, and mothers being taken advantage of at parties, in parks, on nature trails, or grocery store parking lots. If the world were full of Radars, people would always do the decent thing, and let other people make their own self-destructive decisions and then show them love and compassion instead of self-indulgent evil.

Mays, now a convicted rapist, apologized to his victim’s family by saying, “No pictures should have been sent around, let alone ever taken.” He was, of course, referring to the numerous photos and videos that circulated amongst the Steubenville community and cemented his conviction. However, he apologized for the wrong thing. He should not have raped his classmate that night, and that’s what he should have apologized for. Had he the decency to walk away from an intoxicated and incapacitated peer, whom he described in a text message as “like a dead body,” he might still be a free man. Instead, he behaved like a lower life form, taking and manipulating for his own enjoyment.

Radar is the perfect foil for the men we revere. He struggled to assert his manhood in a war zone on a daily basis. He was short. He wore glasses. He lacked confidence with women. He drank grape soda. And yet he was a good man. Some of you struggle to assert yourselves as worthy specimens of masculinity on a daily basis, too. Maybe you’re scrawny. Maybe you don’t play a glamor sport. Maybe you don’t take weightlifting. But who cares? Those things don’t make you a man. The way you treat the women in your life, especially when no one is watching, is the strongest indicator of your decency. Rape culture places the burden of responsibility on women to protect themselves, but that’s wrong. Quite simply, we all need to develop a chronic and incurable decency. Only then will we learn to redefine masculinity as something that respects, instead of something that expects.

My students are nerds and some of them even realize how awesome...

Sat, 13 Apr 2013 13:59:34 -0400

My students are nerds and some of them even realize how awesome that is.

Things we should stand for

Wed, 27 Mar 2013 14:03:57 -0400

Here are some things I think that we should all do.

Respect all women and all men equally, even when they’re not right next to us.
Solve problems with words instead of fists.
Control our own behavior, and not take advantage of others’ weaknesses.

Also, if ye be a man, sign this.

huffposttv: This is the best. Atta boy, creepy Jack.

Tue, 26 Feb 2013 05:45:37 -0500

huffposttv:

This is the best.

Atta boy, creepy Jack.

This is an actual item from Art in the Age of Mechanical...

Sun, 17 Feb 2013 15:20:00 -0500

This is an actual item from Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction, which is an actual shop in Philadelphia.

I lovehate everything about this. Look at the detail that went into this display. There’s the reinforced string hole; the hand-stamped label; the artful arrangement of the matchsticks; the lovely row of bottles. My goodness.

This all does nothing to distract me from the fact that never was there a more hipster product than this.

photojojo: Your eyes do not fool you. This typography by Nina...

Wed, 06 Feb 2013 22:01:05 -0500

photojojo:

Your eyes do not fool you.

This typography by Nina Harcus is made up of icing, flour, and pie crust, respectively.

Edible Typography

via Fubiz

Ummm…this is the Internet.

Today

Thu, 31 Jan 2013 10:40:21 -0500

I feel like all of my students are Alaskas.

I don’t like it when kids break.

Why is this gorgeous creepiness a thing?

Sun, 20 Jan 2013 21:59:24 -0500

Why is this gorgeous creepiness a thing?

soupsoup: Stefon’s guide to New York (larger version...

Wed, 09 Jan 2013 05:28:17 -0500

soupsoup:

Stefon’s guide to New York (larger version here)

Yeesssssssss yessss yesssssssss yessss yessss yes.

Photo

Sun, 30 Dec 2012 00:54:02 -0500

A toasty and teensy bit white Colorado Christmas.

Tue, 25 Dec 2012 18:10:56 -0500

A toasty and teensy bit white Colorado Christmas.

Apple cider brined turkey, oyster and vegetable dressing, fig...

Mon, 24 Dec 2012 21:23:49 -0500

Apple cider brined turkey, oyster and vegetable dressing, fig and root dressing, ginger and nutmeg sweet potatoes, butternut squash with hazelnut and sage presto, and of course cranberries.

Lots of essays to grade tonight, so I did this instead.

Mon, 17 Dec 2012 19:10:00 -0500

Lots of essays to grade tonight, so I did this instead.

There is more good in the world than there is evil.

Sat, 15 Dec 2012 10:18:00 -0500

There is more good in the world than there is evil.