Testing...testing...more testing

A few weeks ago I met for our annual winter retreat with the Ohio Education Association (OEA) Board of Directors.

As one of our activities, we answered a few questions which we then discussed with another member of the Board. The question set I chose to answer started by asking if I was proud of my job and went on from there.

I am proud of my job. I do a job that matters. Every day I interact with a hundred and thirty students very directly and another fifty or so in passing moments in the hallway, and everyday it's my pleasure - my responsibility, really - to create a stable, loving environment for them.

Yes, I'm assigned to teach them chemistry (or material science or whatever), but there are so many more - and often more important - things that I teach on a daily basis. I teach them discipline and the - hopefully - rewards of hard work. I teach them about responsibility and about living up to your promises - or at least owning up when you don't.

I teach them how to be better people, how to work in groups, how to figure out problems, and fight through difficulties. I teach them the value of hard work and of occasionally taking a break from hard work.

I used to teach them about the value of charity, the value of working hard to help others, the value of working together to plan a charity campaign. See, we used to run a campaign for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. It was called Pasta for Pennies - well, it is still called Pasta for Pennies, we just don't run it that same way at Princeton.

See, we used to get a group of students together in the early fall and let them run the campaign. We would call the meetings and make suggestions, but the students ran the campaign. They owned the process and the events. They made the plans. They did the legwork. Yeah, we followed up to check in on them, but the campaign was theirs. They convinced their friends of the value of the campaign.

But February became sacred. February became time for test preparation and not for fundraising. February had to be cleared, so our campaign - our nationally ranked, our morality-teaching, our quarter of a million dollar raising campaign - was shifted. We'd been here before the OGT, but we couldn't win against the state report card.

So we had to move the campaign from February when we'd run the campaign for nearly a decade into October which meant we didn't have time for them to own the campaign. October meant that the campaign became a thing that Lonnie and Becky ran, a thing that we asked the students to participate in but that they didn't own. October meant the campaign became a burden to the students instead of a gift, instead of a teaching tool, instead of a glorious opportunity.

Instead of taking the time to let the students develop leadership skills, to go into the community, build teamwork, work together, grow something that mattered to them, we started telling them what to do so that we could spend February preparing them so we could spend March testing them.

And our scores didn't go up.

And our campaign died.

Yes, it limped on for a couple of more years. We raised thirty-seven thousand more dollars in two more years, something we'd raised in one campaign the year before.

And then we quit because the thing we'd loved had been dying for two years.

Because the testing killed it.

The single thing that I've done with my students about which I was the proudest...about which I still am the proudest was killed by the OGT.

I can't even imagine how much more quickly the PARCC and AIR tests would have killed it.

This is my story of why I hate standardized tests.

We march through the current decade

2011 from PHSChemGuy on 8tracks Radio.

As did 2011...

Why so anti-science?

Science is generally trustworthy.

Say it with me.

"Science is generally trustworthy."

See, not everybody in the United States understands that.

The Pew Research Center recently did a study looking at the general beliefs of the United States public and of the scientific community.

Turns out that the viewpoints of those two groups are radically different.

And that's a problem because we kind of depend on science for a whole lot of the awesomness that is our modern world.

Without animal testing, we would be without all of our modern medicines.

There are clearly a whole bunch of issues with public, wrong-headed beliefs that vaccines cost lives instead of  the truths that they save millions of lives and that the only research article that found links between autism and vaccines was entirely discredited. No, what kills people is the lack of vaccines (see California's current measles outbreak).

Even our Congressional leaders, the newest Congress, is among the most anti-science Congresses in history.

Cody Weinberg, the one with the 350SL?

• Over 16000 people were offended by NASCAR's Nick Offerman Super Bowl ad poking fun at gluten-free diets - I'm not one of those.
• My own phonetic alphabet - been there...
• Maine Secret Island Backpacking - It's no secret any longer. It's Hawaii 2, and I'm a part owner.
• 'Every 90s Commercial Ever' is a perfect parody with a psychotic twist - a very dark twist...like The Fly meets Capri Sun... 

• Top ten reasons why Secretary beats 50 Shades of Grey - I can't promise that it's better, but I fully assume it is because Secretary is excellent.
• This book won't open if it doesn't like the look of your face - Entertaining tech
• How to make a reverse boiled egg - novel but not particularly useful
• You can micro-volunteer your time to help a blind person - This sounds excellent. 

• Super-flare: How does Superman's new power compare to all of Superman's other new powers? - Best one, clearly Superman's NEW Power of mini-Superman
• Neil deGrasse Tyson at the Taft - in October...might go, tickets a little high, though
• TOKIO - more entertainingly weird Japanese gameshows
• Roland Smith's Public Education - Thanks, Rich
• Brazil, California face specter of worsening drought - no snow now is going to make for a long, dry summer
• The vaccine lunacy - so much misinformation...so many morons...
• Your guide to Deflate-gate-related statistical analysis - Not as obvious as you might've thought...
• DreamingWithJeff - Crazy Heart was good enough that I'll listen through once, at least.
• 
  

Time for the Athens Olympics

2004 from PHSChemGuy on 8tracks Radio.

And we close the week in 2004 with some of the best music ever.

Welcome to my twenty-eighth year

2003 from PHSChemGuy on 8tracks Radio.

By 2003, I was firmly at Princeton High School. I'd already shaved my head for Pasta for Pennies and was making a bunch of new friends, some of which are still with me.

I palindrome, I

2002 from PHSChemGuy on 8tracks Radio.

See, the number 2002 is the same forward as it is backwards.

It's a space odyssey...

2001 from PHSChemGuy on 8tracks Radio.

Space odyssey time, ladies and germs.

Welcome to the current century

2000 from PHSChemGuy on 8tracks Radio.

It's the 2000s now, folks. Have a blast from the past.

18 inches of concrete in the way? Man, we can't drill through that.

• Trailer: Fantastic 4 - I'm down with this.
• 13 secrets of Amazon Warehouse workers - I know a guy who worked at one of these places in Louisville. I should ask if these things are f'real.
• Anthony Davis is 'The Special Man' in this ridiculous New Orleans Pelicans ticket deal commercial - Really only funny if you see the original.

Ranking John Cusack's films

Man, John Cusack has been in A LOT of films. I mean, he's no Christopher Plummer or anything, but he's been a bunch of films.

Let's break them down.

His films that are excellent...(best at the top, worst at the bottom)

• Grosse Pointe Black (1997) - This is phenomenally rewatchable. It's funny and creative and nostalgic. Minnie Driver is great. Dan Aykroyd might've had his last enjoyable performance here. Excellent
• High Fidelity (2000) - JC's last great film and one I would put in the running for his finest. The speech patter fits him perfectly. The part is brilliant. The lead couple have great chemistry. Wonderful film. 
• Better Off Dead (1985) - It's not perfect. It's badly dated. It's loads and loads of fun from start to finish. From the awesome claymation to his best friend appraising the street value of the mountain of snow to apologizing for blowing up Ricky's mom to the Franch dinner...hilarious.
• Eight Men Out (1988) - Cusack plays one of the disgraced Black Sox in an excellent film. It's certainly not my favorite of his, but it's pretty excellent.
• Being John Malkovich (1999) - It hasn't aged well, but it was absolutely stunning at the time. There aren't a lot of films this weird, original, and creative. Had I rated it when I first saw it, I probably would've had it a couple of spots higher.
• Say Anything (1989) - This one feels so very much older than the late 1980's. It feels like early 80's to me. Hard to believe this was the end of early JC. By the time he got here and played high school Lloyd Dobler, he was already 23 (at least as of the date of the movie's release).
• The Sure Thing (1985) - I thought this would've come along a little later in his oeuvre. Cute, workable romantic comedy with the ever-cute Daphne Zuniga in the other lead role.

His films that I acknowledge aren't perfect but that I enjoy...(best at the top, worst at the bottom)

• Hot Tub Time Machine (2010) - I was shocked to find hoe much I enjoyed this one. And I give JC credit for not putting himself into the sequel. In act, I wonder if Cusack has put himself into a single sequel. Off hand, I can't think of any. Let's put a pin in that and come back to it.
• The Ice Harvest (2005) - Saw this one in the theater and enjoyed the dark tone for a movie centered around the Christmas season. Plus it has Oliver Platt who is pretty much always hilarious. Lots of double crosses and distrust...
• Bob Roberts (1992) -  If you check this one out, you might want to hit up Don't Look Back first because it is rife with Bob Dylan references. If you get them, it's hilarious. If not, it might just come off as a bit foolish.
• Fat Man and Little Boy (1989) - Highly fictionalized account of the Manhattan Project. Shoehorn in a love story, a little bare-handed handling of two uranium core halves. Interesting stuff, at least.
• Pushing Tin (1999) - Interesting film about a romantic rivalry between two air traffic controllers (JC and Billy Bob Thornton). Decent enough flick.
• Serendipity (2001) - The initiator of this post...it's not a good film, but it's an enjoyable film - mostly because of JC and Jeremy Piven. The writing - dozens of 'almost got together' rolling throughout the film - isn't awful, either. In the end, it's a confection - sweet but ultimately not entirely satisfying.
• Tapeheads (1988) - Not a good film but very much a fun one of an era. Tim Robbins and JC star as a couple of music video producers who are all set to become big men in the nascent video industry. It impressively dated but kinda fun.

His films that are passable, at best...(best at the top to worst at the bottom)

• The Grifters (1990) - Well, here's a dark one. Conman gets conned and double conned by pretty girl and creepy mother.
• Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil (1997) - This one hasn't stuck with me all that well, but I do remember that I saw it once. Kevin Spacey chews scenery here like he is spectacular at doing.
• Road to Wellville (1994) - Apparently JC got away without putting out a film in 1995. That's his third such year working backwards. Interesting take on the Battle Creek enema crowd and the birth of Corn Flakes.
• Must Love Dogs (2005) - I'd entirely forgotten that I'd even seen this one. Then I looked up JC on my blog and found that I'd even reviewed it. Not a boon there, but apparently it was enjoyable enough fluff.
• War, Inc (2008) - There are a few neat scenes, but this isn't a good film. Hillary Duff's part, in particular is impressively trashy with an hilarious Eastern European accent.
• Bullets Over Broadway (1994) - I remember falling asleep a few times while I watched this. That's about all I've got here.

His films I haven't seen...(chronological order here, reverse-style)...I'm curious as to which of these I should check out. Any advice?

• Reclaim (2014)
  
• Love & Mercy (2014)
• The Prince (2014)
• Drive Hard (2014)
• Maps to the Stars (2014)
• The Bag Man (2014) - seriously? six movies released in 2014?
• No Somos Animales (2013)
• Grand Piano (2013)
• The Frozen Ground (2013)
• Adult World (2013)
• The Numbers Station (2013) - The dude is not afraid to work. I'll give him that much.
• The Factory (2012)
• The Raven (2012)
• Shanghai (2010) - How did he go a full year (2011) without putting out a single film?
• 2012 (2009)
• Igor (2008) - Working backwards, this is JC's first animated flick.
• Martian Child (2007)
• 1408 (2007) - This is the first one working backwards that actually interests me.
• Grace is Gone (2007)
• The Contract (2006) - JC's only 2006 release
• Runaway Jury (2003) - Again, a year off for 2004 for JC. This Grisham-penned flick actually sounds like it might be worth checking out.
• Identity (2003) - IMDB users give it an aggregate 7.3/10 which is a fair bit higher than most of the films that I've listed above. I remember seeing previews of this one and understanding that it's got a big reveal at the end, but I never got around to seeing it.
• Max (2002) 
• America's Sweethearts (2001)
• Cradle Will Rock (1999)
• This is My Father (1998)
• Anastasia (1997) - another animated flick
• Con Air (1997)
• City Hall (1996)
• Floundering (1994) - Finally JC plays a part called JC.
• Money for Nothing (1993)
• Map of the Human Heart (1992) - Another with good (7.1/10) ratings from IMDB users.
• True Colors (1991) - Spader and Cusack together? I definitely should check this one out.
• Hot Pursuit (1987)
• One Crazy Summer (1986) - I'm really surprised I haven't seen this one. I know I passed by the videotape box dozens and dozens of times back in New Albany at the video store.
• Journey of Natty Gann (1985)

Films that aren't really his but in which he had a smaller part...

• The Butler (2013)
• The Paperboy (2012)
• Summerhood (2008)
• The Thin Red Line (1998) - It's not much of a JC film (he's barely in it, in fact), but it might be the finest film on the list. Great, great film from Terrence Malick. Beautiful, slow, moving, absolutely perfect war movie that plays against type at every turn.
• Chicago Cab/Hellcab (1997)
• Roadside Prophets (1992) 
• Shadows and Fog (1992) - another Woody Allen flick, meh...
• Broadcast News (1987) - Good film but not enough JC to make it into the ratings
• Stand By Me (1986) - Great film but not one that has enough JC to make the list. Really spectacular and even a good performance from JC in the bully role.
• Grandview USA (1984)
• Sixteen Candles (1984) - I've reviewed it before, and it has aspects that I do enjoy. Early, early JC as a minor character's friend even.
• Class (1983)

Collectible Minifigure Series 14 rumors

Series 13 just came out three weeks ago. (I sort of went 16 for 16. I'll put a PS at the bottom if you're curious.) The next series, scheduled for May, looks to be the second series from The Simpsons (check the full, rumored list here.)

And, already, we get a teaser list of September's Series 14. Looks like we'll be getting a thematic series: Halloween-themed this time.

• vampire
• tiger girl (seen above)
• zombie accountant
• zombie cheerleader
• zombie pirate captain
• venus flytrap (pic at the link below)
• werewolf (pic at the link below)
• witch
• Frankenstein's rock monster (rock like music?)
• mad scientist
• skeleton boy (pic at the link below)
• five more as yet unnamed

I'm starting to get really curious as to how these Asian folks keep getting the pre-release info on the minifigs and how Lego doesn't smack them down when they leak all the info.

Rumors from here...four pics from here...

My concert history

I'm trying to come up with a comprehensive list of every concert I've seen. Let's see...

• Bob Dylan - Cincy Gardens, Bogart's, Louisville Palace, Kentucky Center for the Arts
• Richard Thompson - Southgate House (multiple), 21st Century Theater, Aberdeen, Middletown, Madison Theater
• Yonder Mountain String Band - Southgate House, Madison Theater
• Dougie McClean - Southgate House
• Beastie Boys - Rock the Vote
• Sheryl Crow - Rock the Vote
• Ben Harper - Rock the Vote
• Wilco - Aronoff Theater, Taft Theater, Tall Stacks
• Old Crow Medicine Show - Tall Stacks
• Freddy Jones Band - Wabash College
• Prince - 5/3 Arena
• DaVinci's Notebook - Louisville Zoo
• Mick Moloney - Wabash College
• Dave Matthews Band - Riverbend, Cardinal Stadium
• Willie Nelson - Cardinal Stadium
• John Mellencamp - Deer Creek, Cardinal Stadium, Freedom Hall
• Crash Test Dummies - Aberdeen
• Jimmy Dale Gilmore - Kentucky Center for the Arts (opening for Bob Dylan)
• Low - Aronoff (opening for Wilco)
• Jeff Tweedy/Tweedy - Brown Theater
• Bruce Spingsteen - Rupp Arena
• Billy Joel - Market Square Arena
• U2 - Rupp Arena
• Ryan Adams - Taft Theater
• Lyle Lovett - Taft Theater, Kentucky Center for the Arts
• Leon Redbone - Jim Dandy's Good Time Emporium
• Chris Isaak - Kentucky Center for the Arts
• John Prine - Palace Theater, Butler's campus
• Neil Young - Deer Creek, Riverbend
• Peter Mulvey - Southgate House (opening for Richard Thompson)
• Jewel Kilcher -Deer Creek (opening for Neil Young)
• Flogging Molly - Bogart's
• The Chieftans - Louisville Gardens, Aronoff
• Warren Zevon - Phoenix Hill Tavern
• They Might Be Giants - DePauw University
• Brian Dewan - DePauw University (opening for They Might Be Giants)
• Tannahill Weavers - Aberdeen, Bellarmine Celtic Festival
• Ashley MacIsaac - Louisville Gardens (opening for The Chieftans)
• Amanda Shires - Middletown (opening for Richard Thompson)

Not necessarily concerts I've seen...

• Bobby Knight - Fraze Pavillion
• Einstein on the Beach - Ann Arbor
• The Mystery of Edwin Drood - Aronoff
• Cinderella Jr - Hamilton Freshman School
• Guys & Dolls Jr - Hamilton Freshman School
• some opera - Indiana University
• Wicked - Aronoff
• Spamalot - Aronoff
• Alton Brown - Aronoff
• A Chorus Line - Aronoff
• A Chorus Line - New York City
• Broadway Bound - New York City
• Grand Hotel - New York City
• Rosencrantz & Guidenstern Are Dead - Cincy Shakespeare Festival
• The Tempest - Shakespeare in the Park
• As You Like It - Shakespeare in the Park
• Ira Glass - Aronoff
• Wait, Wait Don't Tell Me - Music Hall
• Hairspray - Princeton High School
• My Fair Lady - Princeton High School
• Twelfth Night - Princeton High School
• Seussical - Princeton High School
• Medea - Princeton High School
• Joseph & the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat - Princeton High School
• Shipwrecked - Princeton High School
• Aladdin - Princeton High School
• Coffee House (x3, I think) - Princeton High School
• Servant of Two Masters - Princeton High School
• Zombie Prom - Princeton High School
• Les Miserables - Princeton High School
• Wonderful Town - Princeton High School
• Sound of Music - Princeton High School
• lots of other plays and musicals and PHS

As other things come to me, I'll update this list.

Don't lie to me, Jonathan.

• Watch this guy's awesome, expanded cover of Wakko's 50 states and capitals song - At some point it becomes tedious, but that's far down the line. 
• 28 things you might not know about The Royal Tenenbaums - fun film...odd but fun...
• The latest trailer for It Follows is just as creepy as the last one - Terrifying...wanna see it and The Babadook

Whither Prince?

1999 from PHSChemGuy on 8tracks Radio.

How can the best music of 1999 not include the tiny, purple one?

In 1998, I was teachng in Mt Healthy.

1998 from PHSChemGuy on 8tracks Radio.

Mount Healthy was an interesting place, and I made a bunch of good friends there. The music of 1998 had very little to do with it, though.

Hey there, 1997, how you doin'?

1997 from PHSChemGuy on 8tracks Radio.

I have no idea who those people are, but they're happy to play 1997's best music for you.

The Olympics were in Atlanta...in case you didn't remember.

1996 from PHSChemGuy on 8tracks Radio.

The cock-up that was the bombing investigation - including the rush to judgement of a doughy security guard - wasn't a good thing, though we did have some good music to listen to.

1995 from PHSChemGuy on 8tracks Radio.

We continue with the 8tracks trail through time in today's 1995 music playlist.

You cry because you're human, but you weren't always.

• Black Simon and Garfunkle give us a very solemn cover of 'Uptown Funk' -  ?uestlove gonne give it to ya.
• The line is drawn #223 - Superheroes take over the comic strip pages.
• Ruin Days - Order horrible things for people you can't stand. This seems really mean.
• The Hitchcock Gallery - He was a heck of a filmmaker, but he certainly had a specific style.

Lovelorn crab

This webcomic feels very familiar, but I can't find that I've posted it before, so I'm posting it as though it's new.

Here's part one from Gunshow's cartoon about a lovelorn crab.

You'll have to head to his/her/its website to see part two. I warn you that it's very much worth seeing part two.

Thanks, by the way, to Tastefully Offensive for sharing the comic. Me, I'd rather not be accused of being a freebooter, so I'll send you back to the originator's to get the finale.

A touching moment

This song came on the radio on Saturday as The Girl and I were in the car. She mentioned that this was a song that she played in the car for our foster dogs each time she was taking them to be adopted.

Her cassette player is broken. There isn't a cd player. So she calls the video up on her phone on YouTube before she takes them to their new family.

I didn't know that.

I was - and am - incredibly touched by that. Heck, I'm welling up a little just typing it.

Their adoption day is going to be the best day of their lives.

There's a little dust in here. I'm gonna go now...

But, does anybody wanna meet a giant (90-lb), sweet, easy going, not terribly active dog that's available for adoption right now? Mordecai is incredibly sweet...

Listen, North Korea, you can mess with a lot of things...

Ignition Sequences from Richie Johnstonline on Vimeo.

• Ignition sequences - Fire spinning is just gorgeous.
• Netflix recommendations - I should've gotten that fourth one down.
• Cool flame - I particularly like the second one, but I'm curious what percentage of the initial candle wax will get reused. 
• Real Life Peter Griffin goes to NY Comic Con - His other impressions aren't great, but his Peter Griffin is pretty entertaining.

• Kitchen cabbage plant - I hate red cabbage, but I think I may try to grow one of these because it's pretty.
• Trick or treat - cute Lego kids in costume
• Intel compute stick - So, just plug it into any HDMI display, and you have a computer? Interesting... 
• Junk food landscapes - messy, wasteful, but pretty 
• Twenty terrifying two-sentence horror stories -  They're more like interesting premises for longer stories, but they're interesting.
• Does Justice League International have a lasting legacy? - I'm glad to hear it does because I loved that series.
• An All-Star lineup of players not in the Hall of Fame - actually, it's just people on the ballot this year, but it's still enlightening.
• The plunging price of crude oil is NOT due to fracking - This post suggests a very small part is actually due to fracking but that most of the price drop isn't.
• And then he rested... - 52 weeks of Lego excellent vignettes
• Every time you fly, you trash the planet - and there's no easy fix -
• 12 ideas so crazy they might be genius - I think I would watch that Harry Potter sitcom.
• Bucky Barnes Winter Soldier polybag - Stupid thing is probably going to be a Con exclusive.
• Town Hall - Life in the frigid, freezing, cold Alaska frontier where everybody in town lives in the same building.
• The public signs need grammar lessons - Don't be picky...just correct the signs with white our or Sharpies.
• 21 gifs that are actually worth looking at - Calen should especially check out 18.
• Interesting facts about The Simpsons - The show's been on long enough that there are a bunch of these.
• Displaying three variables on a 2d graph - That's interesting.
• Warriors above, damsels below: The Conan pose - It's iconic at this point.
• An Uncomfortable Pause in the Song: Remembering Rachel Blanton - I went to elementary school with Rachel Blanton, and I'd long since lost touch with her. I sometimes forget that there are lots of spectacular people I don't ever know.
• Prime rib - I've had a number of waiters that I think wouldn't get it.
• Limbo prank - That would be hilarious to see in person.
• When women become men at Wellesley - I wonder if Wabash has dealt with this before.

The comics I've put into my brain

Here's what I've been reading...

Excellent

• Hawkeye: L.A. Woman - Matt Fraction, Annie Wu, and Javier Pulido are rocking Hawkeye. The artwork is brilliant, the stories are quickly engaging. The book is outstanding. Here we don't even see Clint Barton after the first couple of pages in which Kate Bishop (a kind of Hawkeye Jr, Lady Hawkeye) tells Clint off and bugs off for the left coast where she resolutely refuses to take her father's financial support, hangs up her shingle for private detective work, and finds herself investigating a series of (not shockingly) interwoven cases, all of which were set into motion by Kate's past with Madame Masque. Definitely a series to start reading if you aren't already. Apparently these issues were interwoven in the regular series with Barton-specific issues. So said Matt Fraction, himself.
• What If by Randall Munroe - I firmly pledge myself to the cult of Randall. I've been reading his What If column online for a while now (not quite since the beginning but for a fair while) and dig his 'serious scientific answers to absurd hypothetical questions' as illustrated by xkcd-style stick figure drawings. Randall's particular style delves into the ridiculously and well educatedly scientific answers to the absurd questions asked by his readers. This book reprints the majority of columns he's published online and adds in a few new ones (particularly the outstanding-for-my-class 'What if you tried to build a periodic table made of brick-sized chunks of each corresponding element?' which doesn't seem to be available online, sadly) and a smattering of questions that he entertainingly rejects from the realm of the answered. Yes, most of the questions are available for free online, but there's enough new content and updates here and there (barely noticeable if Randall didn't necessarily point them out in the always entertaining footnotes) that the book is worth a buy. I will at least be copying/scanning the periodic table answer for future reading in chem class.
• Ms Marvel vol 1 -  The artwork's outstanding - and refreshing, reminiscent of Triplets of Belleville. The story's a blast and brilliantly representative of a a teenager trying to find her way. I can't speak to the teenager trying to find her way in a foreign land, but if Marvel can keep publishing this line - and we (not me, honestly) can keep buying enough of these issues to keep them being published - then we'll be doing some good. And it helps that the writers are telling a hell of a story along the way.
• Ultimate Comics Spider-Man Vol 5 - The cover of this volume is an homage to Amazing Spider-Man #50 in which Peter Parker hung up the Spider-Man costume in the first of many crises of conscience. Here Mile Morales goes through a similar crisis after his mother dies because of the actions that come to him because his Spider-Man identity. In the course of this volume, Gwen Stacey, Mary Jane Watson, Spider-Woman (Jessica Drew), Miles's friends, and even the Ultimates convince him to pick up the mantle again because he, of course, has great power so he must have great responsibilities. It could be a very hokey arc, but it works well in Bendis's hands, something that doesn't surprise me at this point. After Miles puts the costume back on, he helps Spider-Woman and the newly-introduced Cloak and Dagger to take down Roxxon, a facelessly-evil corporation that helped create the various heroes. Good stuff...don't

Pretty Good

• Uncanny X-Men: Vol 1 Revolution - Holy crap! The X-Men have split into different teams with different philosophies and missions! And each team has taken on a different visual identity with new costumes for everybody! It's moderately interesting, but it's ground that has been tread so many times that it's not remotely new - nor does it promise any sort of lasting change. Volume 2: Broken is decently better, and the artwork is really coming into its own and starting to impress me, particularly in the very first issue of the second collection, in which the team heads to Limbo to take on the dread Dormammu. Go, Chris Bachalo!
• Morning Glories (vol 1 -7) - Seriously, I read all seven so-far-published collected volumes of Morning Glories. I'd heard some good things about the series, and all seven were sitting right there on the shelf at the Sharonville PLCH branch. The story certainly begins interestingly enough with the soon-to-be-known-as Glories arriving to the exclusive, private, boarding school and finding that things there are a little more cut-throat and deadly than they would have been at any previous schools. From there we delve into time travel, Spy-vs-Spy crosses and double-crosses, deaths and resurrections, cyclical dealings that themselves lead into their own initiating events, and unexplained motives and origins.
  
  In all honesty, I found the first few volumes of the series absolutely fascinating and read them voraciously. Then the plot kept not explaining things - how people came back from the dead, the origins/identify/motives of the unseen Headmaster, where the heck things were going, how the titular Morning Glories Academy continued to exist as they picked off their students one by one - and I'm officially giving up now. My guess is that it's pretty interesting, but the writers are taking far too long to get to wherever they're going.
• Batman: Detective Comics vol 3 Mad - I'm of two minds here on one side, there's the interesting story arc of the Mad Hatter trying to recreate his one, perfect day as a young man and kidnapping half of Gotham to make it happen. It works. It's interesting. It gives Jervis Tech a much more interesting backstory than he's had before. It also works to give Jervis some 'super powers' via the various teas that he ingests/drinks/blows into Batman's face.
  
  The problem with this volume is that Batman falls in love, considers giving up being Batman, reveals his identify to another woman. She, of course, dies and ends up being bait to draw Batman into Tech's trap. And in the next issue, it's back to Batman of old with no romantic entanglements. Seriously, to how many women has Batman revealed his secret identity through the years?
• Batman And Robin vol 1-4 - This is the first time I can remember a Batman & Robin series actually being about Batman & Robin. Yeah, there have been series with that title before, and they've told stories that involved Batman & Robin, but they weren't about the relationship between Batman and - in this case, his son - Robin. It's an interesting turn to see Batman trying to be a father to Damien - both in his role as Batman and as Bruce Wayne, leading Damien to be a better man and a better Robin. Then Damien dies (in a different series, admittedly), and the series shifts with Batman trying to deal with his loss. It's actually really interesting and well written.

Fine

• Batman '66 -  meh...there's nothing particularly wrong with this volume - in fact, the artwork's pretty good and stylish and colorful, entirely truthful to the spirit of the original 1966 television show. There's also nothing particularly right about the series, either. The set pieces are far more elaborate than anything that the television show could ever manage, but that doesn't necessarily make for magically great stories. They're fine. They just don't interest me too much.
• Batman/Judge Dredd Collection - This is a collection of four stories, the first three of which see Judge Dredd crossing over into Gotham and dealing with Batman. (Weirdly, the last issue sees Dredd crossing over with Lobo, the most 90s of DC characters - no Batman to be found anywhere in that one.) The art style is interesting, very much unlike things seen in typical comic books and much more Vertigo, dark, sketchy. Kinda fun for a while, but the stories didn't interest me.

Poor

• Batman: Detective Comics vol 2: Scare Tactics -  This is crap. Horribly violent, ridiculously and almost comedically angry Batman. Blech...
• Hulk: Dark Son - I could not be more tired of the entire Hulk family (Red Hulk, She-Hulk, Abomination, Skaar, Hiro-Kala, Lyra). Actually, it's the utterly inconsistent and whimful characterization of all of the characters that I'm tired of. Every character switches from angry to helpful to sad to rational to badonkers crazy and back again in the space of seemingly every couple of panels. I miss the Hulk that only wanted to be alone.

Texts from Superheroes

See, they're text conversations between superheroes (and villains)...It's funny, see?

More Simpson Lego Minifigs

Looks like May's next series of Collectible Minfigs will be another round of the Simpsons, and the list has already (unofficially) been released:

• Homer in his Sunday Best
• Marge in her Sunday Best
• Bartman
• Lisa with Snowball II
• Maggie with Santa’s Little Helper
• Fallout Boy
• Waylon Smithers
• Patty Bouvier
• Selma Bouvier
• Jeff Albertson a.k.a. the Comic Book Guy
• William MacDougal III a.k.a. Groundskeeper Willie
• Edna Krabappel
• Dr. Julius Hibbert
• Jonathan “John” I.Q. Neidelbaum Frink, Jr., B.Sc., Ph.D. M.R.S.C., C.Chem a.k.a. Professor Frink
• Hans Moleman
• Martin Prince

I'm kinda thrilled to get Willie, the Comic Book guy, and Professor Frink. And these throw my guesses from earlier totally out of the window. I didn't a full repeat of the Simpson family in new costumes. I wonder who'll come with the Kwik-E-Mart set.

And the photo up top came from Whitesnake...I'm three short of managing all those (two Olympians - runner and boxer - and one Mr Gold).

It's a pretty outstanding world out there.

Thanks for Chris Hatfield for recording this and to Neatorama for linking to it.

Remember folks, everything is awesome.

That's just, like, your opinion, man.

Channel 9's Meal Madness took sixty-four Cincinnati-area restaurants and pitted them against each other to find the most popular restaurant in the area.

And they got it probably right.

But if they were going for the best restaurant, they got it most certainly wrong.

Let's break the restaurants into groups...

Places I've been and love...

• Senate - getting knocked out by Taste of Belgium in round 2 is a crime.
• Terry's Turf Club - A 1st-round loser? Tragedy
• Knotty Pine on the Bayou - At least this one made it to the final four.
• Jeff Ruby's Steakhouse - Way, way better than Embers which knocked it out.
• Eli's BBQ - Another crime that it lost in the 1st round.
• Bakersfield - At least it lost to Knotty Pine. I'm okay with that.
• Taqueria Mercado - I wonder if this is the one in Fairfield (my preference) or the one downtown.

Places I've been and think were pretty good...

• Nicola's
• Brown Dog Cafe
• Carlo & Johnny's
• Taste of Belgium
• Embers
• Nicholson's
• Boca
• Parker's Blue Ash
• Moerlein Lager House
• Celestial
• Mecklenburg Gardens
• The Precinct
• The Eagle

Places I've been and thought were just okay...

• A Tavola
• York Street Cafe
• Montgomery Inn (the winner)
• Anchor OTR 
• Jag's
• Zip's
• Primavista
• Relish Modern Tapas
• Jean Robert's Table
• Lavomatic

Places I haven't been and can't really rank...

• Meritage
• Bouquet
• Jimmy G's
• Dancing Wasabi
• Tony's
• Otto's
• Marribelle's
• Orchids at Palms Court
• Virgil's Cafe
• Bella Luna
• Tom + Chee
• Local 127
• Melt
• La Poste
• Oriental Wok
• Slung
• Dee Felice
• The Palace
• Andy's Mediterannean
• Abigail Street
• Myra's Dionysus
• Trio
• Sotto
• The Rookwood
• Pho Lang Thang
• Nada
• Zula
• Teller's
• Bistro Grace
• Buz
• Nectar
• Quarter Bistro...man, I should get out more. That's a far-too-long list.

Not dark yet, but it's getting there...

• 1000 colors - pretty puzzle...probably pretty frustrating, too
• OSU's Mitchell is Player of the Week - So impressed
• Tennis has an income inequality problem - Interesting...I've always heard that only the top pros are really making money and that those scratching along at the margins are really, barely making it.
• A most interesting fireworks show - That would be awesome! 

I feel like there should be more celtic music in this.

1994 from PHSChemGuy on 8tracks Radio.

In 1994 I flew to Scotland to live for nine or so months.

NPR's 2014 playlist

I know I'm always looking for new music, and NPR's All Songs Considered blog is a great way to find some new music every week (heck, every day).

They - and the rest of the NPR music folks - have put together a 300+ song mix tape that you can stream for free.

The playlists can be streamed by individual genre (rock, pop, country/americana, \m/ >_< \m/ - even, whatever the heck that is) or by curator as the songs were chosen by a score of NPR folks.

They also have a list of the songs that you can check out to see what you're going to get.

Hey there, 1993. How you doin'?

1993 from PHSChemGuy on 8tracks Radio.

'Cannonball' came out in 1993.

1992 rocked!

1992 from PHSChemGuy on 8tracks Radio.

I first found out I was going to attend Wabash in 1992.

Hey there, 1991!

1991 from PHSChemGuy on 8tracks Radio.

1991 was the start of my senior year in high school.

Welcome to the 90s!

1990 from PHSChemGuy on 8tracks Radio.

1990 was awesome, wasn't it? I first went out on a date with my now wife in 1990.

The mole could be anybody - except you, Tina!

• The evolution of John Belushi's Joe Cocker impression - RIP John Belushi
• Anna Kendrick Singing: a timeline - I'll see her in just about anything.
• Minimalistmas -  I would buy the heck out of that first set.
• How times have changed - #2 makes me sad. #6 & 7 don't at all.

• 6 things I learned from riding in a Google self-driving car - I'd never thought about #5. That's a big thing.

Merry Wondermark Christmas

Merry Christmas, everybody.

Enjoy some holiday comics from Wondermark (more here)...

Tastefully, Offensively Chucklesome

Tastefully Offensive is worth checking out from time to time. It's funny.

from my former student, Kat Swenski (can't embed the animated gif easily)

from Weird Al

a test of scientific understanding

So, where does the fat go when you lose weight?

Answer after the jump...

Merry Christmas, Bob and family

• Secret Santa - Wouldn't she be suspicious in the first place?
• Celebrate 30 years of Johnny Dangerously with its best lines, you lousy cork-suckers - A spectacular film from the 80s
• Who do you think would win if Batman fought Superman? - Finally, SMBC weighs in on this ages-old debate.
• People are awesome 2014 - I would agree.

Thank you, Tim Burton

1989 from PHSChemGuy on 8tracks Radio.

Tim Burton brought Batman back to the big screen in 1989.

And these songs came out, too...

1988 from PHSChemGuy on 8tracks Radio.

Have you heard about this new drug, crack? Just came out this year...well, the this year of today's 8tracks playlist.

Thank you, Rob Reiner

1987 from PHSChemGuy on 8tracks Radio.

The Princess Bride came out the same year these songs did.

Welcome back, Edwin Halley

1986 from PHSChemGuy on 8tracks Radio.

1986 saw the return of Edwin Halley's comet.

Apparently he lost his comet and keeps struggling to find it.

Lucky for us, I guess.

Let's celebrate that year with a few songs in a playlist.

Mikhail Gorbachev died in 1985

1985 from PHSChemGuy on 8tracks Radio.

Today's playlist comes to you from 1985, a fine year to turn ten.

Christmas music and posts

In case you were in need of some Christmas music - for a party, for putting up the tree a little late, for drowning your sorrows as you open each present hoping it will be the full collection of the Fables: The Deluxe Edition books but instead keep finding socks and underwear in each box - check out the fifteen Christmas playlists that I've posted in years gone by.

And feel free to wish join me in wishing for Steve Martin's five Christmas wishes. It's a classic.

I'm not missing Axel's first game because you didn't plan ahead.

• Surreal stop-motion film about a submarine sandwich - Welcome back, PES.
• When I left the house it was still dark - Sounds like an amazing art project.
• Our favorite Yuletide burning goat is back! - A giant, holiday goat made of hay bales? How cool is that?
• Walking on ice looks more like walking on air - The depth perception is pretty impressive. 

• The best movie posters of 2014 - Especially wanna see #1.
• Why Amelia Bedelia is literally the most terrifying character ever - She's a little darker here than I remember.
• 19 secrets of UPS drivers - I can help 'em with #10 now that I know it.

Brilliant artwork from a branding rebel

I absolutely love the poster (probably just a digital poster, I guess) that somebody put together for the farewell event for Matthews Auditorium (Princeton's soon-to-be-demolished high school theater.)

Somebody really did a creative number on the Viking head that we use for our logo (and that the we pretty clearly stole from the Minnesota Vikings or a thousand other logo sources.)

With all that being said, I am a little curious as to how this fits into the Princeton branding guidelines that say "Do not distort the master brand logo" and 'Do not put the master brand logo in a box or any other shape" because this is clearly being promoted officially by the school.

Need a good read?

The vast majority of my reading is done in the graphic novel world.

With that being said, I do understand that there are a whole lot more books that can be read.

If you're looking for some good reads, you could probably do a whole lot worse than trying some books from NPR's best books of 2014 (sortable by tag).

Smooth rock sounds

So much Yacht Rock today...

There's the classic and hilarious web series - admittedly a little because of language - Yacht Rock. All of the episodes are available on Channel 101 and on YouTube.



Then there's AllMusic's Yacht Rock favorites along with the Spotify playlist that they put together.

Collectible Minifigures Series 13

The full Lego collectible Minifigures Series 13 has now been fully revealed. Let's take a look at what I'm going to be trying to feel for in January.

• Galaxy Trooper - armor is starting to be distinct and two guns
• Alien Trooper - only circular piece in set, head is going to be tough to feel because it's new
• Evil Wizard - staff, neck beard
• King - crown, sword is too much like female samauri
• Goblin - weird sword, satchel - no sword
• Lady Cyclops - club
• Snake Charmer - staff with no bumps at all, snake
• Paleontologist - bone, pith helmet
• Carpenter - 3x1 tile (or maybe 4x1), saw
• Hot dog guy - the full hot dog suit
• Sheriff - 2x2 tile
• Samurai - two swords, maybe shoulder armor
• Disco Diva - microphone, two roller skates
• Unicorn girl - horn, helmet with ears
• Fencer - epee, maybe face shield
• Egyptian Warrior - giant shield in pentagonal shape

There are a lot of swords this time. That's going to make things tougher.

My early favorites are the hot dog guy, snake charmer, carpenter, Ming the Merciless, and the king.

Looking for Teachable Moments

I stumbled upon (not Stumbled Upon - I stopped using that service a while ago after getting a couple of nasty computer viruses) an NPR story about a Middletown High School English teacher who chronicles his teaching life via a blog of cartoons.

They're not all brilliant, but they're almost all spot on observations of his world, and it's one that I recognize all too well. I'll be following Teachable Moments for the foreseeable future.

Check out some of my favorites from the strip.

My preferred dairy custard is half and half...

• Building curiosity - space...science...Lego...perfect...and I have the Lego set shown here, even.
• Boring/Useless Superheroes - It's a gag that's been done before, but it's done well here again.
• This homemade Avengers: Age of Ultron traileris just as good as the real thing - That might be a slight exaggeration, but it's not much.

Orwellian music

1984 from PHSChemGuy on 8tracks Radio.

1984 had some outstanding music.

It's Calen's favorite musical year

1983 from PHSChemGuy on 8tracks Radio.

See, because a decade or so ago, I helped Calen go buy some new music, and she got four cd's from 1983 and one from No Doubt.

So 1983 is clearly her favorite musical year.

Let's take a listen to 1982

1982 from PHSChemGuy on 8tracks Radio.

Here's today's playlist of songs from 1982.

It's 1981!

1981 from PHSChemGuy on 8tracks Radio.

1981 rocked!

Welcome to the 80's

1980 from PHSChemGuy on 8tracks Radio.

The 80's has begun on 8Tracks.