Remember the original Super Mario Brothers Nintendo game? If you do, you might remember how the screen moved, forcing you to keep going. There was a timer that affected the tempo of the music as you started running out. Before you knew it, you were trying desperately to not fall in the next hole or just plain get killed by an easily-killed enemy.
My life feels like that game right now, especially around the winter season. I'm having to stop my regular lessons in music to prepare ALL the grades (PK-5th) for the annual Holiday program coming up. It's a traditional theme called "Christmas Around the World". The idea is to celebrate the holiday as it is celebrated in different parts of the world with songs from different countries. It first starts with sending out a bilingual letter asking if the child has permission to participate (since some families are Jehovah's Witnesses, and don't celebrate Christmas). I don't have a problem with such families, but in accommodating for all students' needs, I have to do this. Then of course some kids forget them and don't bring them in by the time they should, and so on and so forth.
In addition to leading and directing this massive production, I'm the chair of a social committee at my school, and we've got to plan the Christmas party, and we're running out of time to do it.
Then I get home, and I'm on my neighborhood's Neighborhood Watch Committee, and will be the chair of the Welcoming Committee. All of this is volunteer work, too. I'm so drained at the end of each day right now.
*yawn* Yep, I'm exhausted.
Thursday, November 11, 2010
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
4 months later...
Yes, I know. I've been bad. I haven't blogged in 4 months.
No, I'm not dead, nor has anything horrific taken over my life except...life.
School's keeping me busy. Kodály training is....almost finished [insert obscenities here]. I was hoping I'd be finished with it by the end of July, but I have to redo some teaching videos. It's actually the best worst-case scenario. Wait, no it's not. Working on my song collection would've been easier to do than this crap. I don't blame my professor. He's got some major people above him, so anyone whom he trains represents him as a professional pedagogy professor. And according to my videos, I have some serious growth I need to do. I was just so ready to be DONE with this training. I broke down about 3 or 4 times during Level 3. I'm just so thrilled I don't have to repeat the courses...they were the biggest pains in the ass. The only thing that made them anything close to bearable was the fact that I had some awesome classmates.
So I need to have 2 teaching videos pass, and then I'll get my certificate. My goal was to complete this work before the Christmas break, but my motivation to do it is almost non-existent. I was so discouraged by the fact that I'm NOT finished, that I literally feel like saying "Fuck it. I don't give a shit anymore." I kinda just want to wash my hands of the whole thing. I practically gave 3 Julys of my life to being told and shown how to teach elementary music. When I submitted the evidence that shows what I felt I was taught to do, I was told that too many things were not good enough. Yes, this was back in July and I'm still bitter. You'd be bitter too if you knew what all this was like.
God, I'm getting depressed about it now. I need to get the fuck over it and get my shit together and done. That's the ONLY way this nightmare will go away. *sigh of frustration*
On the bright side, I'm going to start giving piano lessons. It'll be something of a financial assistance too. I don't think there are any piano teachers in my neighborhood, so if anyone wants them, I'm there only outlet. Commercial music studios cost a fortune more than what I'm charging. Plus, I'm a music theory badass.
I'm honestly not trying to brag. But I *did* get my Master's degree in music theory, and my thesis covered the fundamentals, my favorite area.
I hope I get a lot of piano students. If I even get just one, who takes a 30 minute lesson each week, that'll be an extra $80 a month which will be very helpful, and that's just 1 student for 30 minutes a week. Honestly, I hope I get 30-minute lessons, for the most part. If people go for the full hour, they'll pay $30, but if I have 2 back-to-back 30-minute lessons, that's $40 right there. The only thing I have to figure out now is where to teach (my house or theirs), and which books to use (and where to get them). I'm feeling optimistic about this, actually.
Okay, well, Glee's about to start, and I CAN'T miss it. I really don't know what to tell my readers about my blogginess. Don't expect anything frequent. But thanks for reading when it comes. :-)
No, I'm not dead, nor has anything horrific taken over my life except...life.
School's keeping me busy. Kodály training is....almost finished [insert obscenities here]. I was hoping I'd be finished with it by the end of July, but I have to redo some teaching videos. It's actually the best worst-case scenario. Wait, no it's not. Working on my song collection would've been easier to do than this crap. I don't blame my professor. He's got some major people above him, so anyone whom he trains represents him as a professional pedagogy professor. And according to my videos, I have some serious growth I need to do. I was just so ready to be DONE with this training. I broke down about 3 or 4 times during Level 3. I'm just so thrilled I don't have to repeat the courses...they were the biggest pains in the ass. The only thing that made them anything close to bearable was the fact that I had some awesome classmates.
So I need to have 2 teaching videos pass, and then I'll get my certificate. My goal was to complete this work before the Christmas break, but my motivation to do it is almost non-existent. I was so discouraged by the fact that I'm NOT finished, that I literally feel like saying "Fuck it. I don't give a shit anymore." I kinda just want to wash my hands of the whole thing. I practically gave 3 Julys of my life to being told and shown how to teach elementary music. When I submitted the evidence that shows what I felt I was taught to do, I was told that too many things were not good enough. Yes, this was back in July and I'm still bitter. You'd be bitter too if you knew what all this was like.
God, I'm getting depressed about it now. I need to get the fuck over it and get my shit together and done. That's the ONLY way this nightmare will go away. *sigh of frustration*
On the bright side, I'm going to start giving piano lessons. It'll be something of a financial assistance too. I don't think there are any piano teachers in my neighborhood, so if anyone wants them, I'm there only outlet. Commercial music studios cost a fortune more than what I'm charging. Plus, I'm a music theory badass.
I'm honestly not trying to brag. But I *did* get my Master's degree in music theory, and my thesis covered the fundamentals, my favorite area.
I hope I get a lot of piano students. If I even get just one, who takes a 30 minute lesson each week, that'll be an extra $80 a month which will be very helpful, and that's just 1 student for 30 minutes a week. Honestly, I hope I get 30-minute lessons, for the most part. If people go for the full hour, they'll pay $30, but if I have 2 back-to-back 30-minute lessons, that's $40 right there. The only thing I have to figure out now is where to teach (my house or theirs), and which books to use (and where to get them). I'm feeling optimistic about this, actually.
Okay, well, Glee's about to start, and I CAN'T miss it. I really don't know what to tell my readers about my blogginess. Don't expect anything frequent. But thanks for reading when it comes. :-)
Thursday, June 24, 2010
The Book Blogs - Broken Government...nearly broke me
I *finally* finished reading this damn book! Yes, you might detect a note of hostility, and I feel slightly hostile for 2 reasons:
1. I had to push myself to read it, as in I was getting no enjoyment out of it towards the end. It went from an activity of leisure to a measure of self-discipline.
2. I will never, ever, ever, so long as I remain the way I do in thinking about government and politics as I do now, EVER become a registered member of the Republican party. NEVER.
After reading this book, I must say that I've never been so disgusted with a political party before. I don't know if the author John Dean is currently a registered Democrat, but I do know that he was once an active staffer in the Republican party during Nixon's presidency. Reading what I read, I can only say I was in total disbelief, numerous times about how absolutely and horridly corrupt the Republican party has become. I'm astounded, baffled, dumbfounded, amazed, and just plain bewildered at how people who are elected to serve those who put them in power choose to serve only themselves and their individual interests. The hypocrisy, duplicity, and sheer [insert additional negative noun] of these people is so thick it's almost tangible!
When I say it was an effort of self-discipline to completely read it is because it was. After every chapter or subsection I'd read, it became harder and harder to return to read it because of how upset the book's contents made me.
Among the hypocrisies listed, I think the biggest one is how this party is the one that claims to be so moral, and yet they engage in some of the most immoral and corrupt practices!
You know what? Trying to even type about this book and what I read is so difficult that it makes me even more upset just thinking about it. So I'll conclude with a few quotes from the book taken from the last chapter: Repairing Government: Restoring the Proper Processes:
And another quote:
1. I had to push myself to read it, as in I was getting no enjoyment out of it towards the end. It went from an activity of leisure to a measure of self-discipline.
2. I will never, ever, ever, so long as I remain the way I do in thinking about government and politics as I do now, EVER become a registered member of the Republican party. NEVER.
After reading this book, I must say that I've never been so disgusted with a political party before. I don't know if the author John Dean is currently a registered Democrat, but I do know that he was once an active staffer in the Republican party during Nixon's presidency. Reading what I read, I can only say I was in total disbelief, numerous times about how absolutely and horridly corrupt the Republican party has become. I'm astounded, baffled, dumbfounded, amazed, and just plain bewildered at how people who are elected to serve those who put them in power choose to serve only themselves and their individual interests. The hypocrisy, duplicity, and sheer [insert additional negative noun] of these people is so thick it's almost tangible!
When I say it was an effort of self-discipline to completely read it is because it was. After every chapter or subsection I'd read, it became harder and harder to return to read it because of how upset the book's contents made me.
Among the hypocrisies listed, I think the biggest one is how this party is the one that claims to be so moral, and yet they engage in some of the most immoral and corrupt practices!
You know what? Trying to even type about this book and what I read is so difficult that it makes me even more upset just thinking about it. So I'll conclude with a few quotes from the book taken from the last chapter: Repairing Government: Restoring the Proper Processes:
In almost four decades of involvement in national politics, much of them as a card-carrying Republican, I was never concerned that the GOP posed a threat to the well-being of our nation. Indeed, the idea would never have occurred to me, for in my experience the system took care of excesses, as it certainly did in the case of the president for whom I worked [Nixon]. But in recent years the system has changed, and is no longer self-correcting. Most of that change has come from Republicans, and much of it based on their remarkable confrontational attitude, an attitude that has clearly worked for them. For example, I cannot imagine any Democratic president keeping cabinet officers as Bush has done with his Secretary of defense, Donald Rumsfeld, and attorney general, Alberto Gonzales, men whom both Democrats and Republicans judged to be incompetent. Evidence that the system has changed is so apparent when a president can deliberately and openly violate the law--as, for example, simply brushing aside serious statutory prohibition against torture and electronic surveillance--without any serious consequences.
And another quote:
Ironically, when Republicans find Democratic officials with even a toe across the line, they raise unmitigated hell for that official. But when a Republican official crosses the line, Republicans close ranks around the miscreant . . . Conservatives once claimed they stood for law and order, and that no person was above the law, but their words belie their true beliefs as expressed in their actions.And the last quote I'll share:
Ignorant and apathetic voters, and dropouts, probably frown at the sign in the shop on East Nineteenth Street in Manhattan that says: "Democracy is like sex--it works best when you participate." A charming thought, if a questionable simile. (If democracy were, in fact, like sex, it would be impossible to prevent people from participating.) If I ever come across this shop, I plan to offer them an additional sign that sums up the GOP attitude about process: "If democracy were like sex--Republicans would make it illegal, except for themselves."
Friday, June 4, 2010
The best perk
*sigh of RELIEF*
Summer vacation has officially begun. *looks at those 2 words* "Summer vacation". Hmm. What will I be doing this summer? If there's any traveling involved, maybe a trip to Houston, maybe a trip to Laredo, and that's probably all I'll do. Maybe a Dallas trip. I don't know. But what I do know is this:
June 7-11: Gifted & Talented Certification training, M-F 8-3.
June 22-23: Positive Behavior Support training, T and W 8-3.
July 12-28: Kodály III training (culminating in Kodály Certification), M-F 8-4
THEN I'm free after that, but between 6/11 and 7/12, I'll be doing a lot of work to prep for the longest (toughest) training I have this summer. I've got a lot of work I need to get done completed, but I still have 3 more big things to finish:
1. 5th grade song collection analysis (about 70+ songs)
2. Song retrieval system on Excel or Access (including of at least 200 songs)
3. Finding sources for all songs in my song collection.
I've been told, I know, and I've experienced that one of the best parts about being a school teacher is that we get the summer off. I doubt this summer will feel like a vacation. I define vacation that an event or time period that is used strictly for one's leisure; it's a time when you reward and treat yourself after working hard for a period of time. My "vacation" will be spent attending 3 trainings, prepping for one of them (that directly affects my career). The best part about this summer is the fact that I won't have to wake up at 5:30 am each morning. But besides that, the biggest and best highlight, professionally speaking, is that after my Kodály training is finished, I'll have earned the prestigious title of Kodály Music Specialist. To me, the only title that could be cooler than adding that to my e-mail signatures would be a small acronym: Ph.D. But if that even happens, it won't happen for a few years. Although, now that I have 3 years of teaching experience under my belt, I have the minimum amount required to apply for a Ph.D in music education. So that'll be awesome.
Another nice thing about this summer is that come August, I'll have made my 36th consecutive payment on my student loans, and I will be rewarded a 1% interest rate reduction. That's both exciting and anticlimactic at the same time because of all the debt I have, my student loans have the lowest interest rate at the moment...except maybe for my car refinancing. That shit went down from 8.34 to 3.4%! My credit cards remain the most expensive rate, each over 10%.
Anyway, I hope to have a wonderful summer. Another amazing perk is that Frank and I will be celebrating our 4th anniversary on June 6th. Four years together, and still totally in love!
Another thing I'll be working on is finishing Broken Government. I really want to get that done. Because of how reading that book has pissed me off every time I've read a chapter, I'm finishing it now more out of discipline than wanting to read more...which is not the goal of reading, at least not for what I'm trying to accomplish. Maybe when I'm finished, I should read a book of fiction, where a story with a plot is told. I remember from high school that the books I enjoyed reading the most were the ones that had a lot of dialogue. If it's nothing but description, I'll get bored easily. I like to follow conversations, especially when they get heated between characters.
Okay. I'm gonna get off this and watch this week's episode of Glee I missed because of a True Blood event I attended.
Ahh, sweet summer...I've missed you!
Summer vacation has officially begun. *looks at those 2 words* "Summer vacation". Hmm. What will I be doing this summer? If there's any traveling involved, maybe a trip to Houston, maybe a trip to Laredo, and that's probably all I'll do. Maybe a Dallas trip. I don't know. But what I do know is this:
June 7-11: Gifted & Talented Certification training, M-F 8-3.
June 22-23: Positive Behavior Support training, T and W 8-3.
July 12-28: Kodály III training (culminating in Kodály Certification), M-F 8-4
THEN I'm free after that, but between 6/11 and 7/12, I'll be doing a lot of work to prep for the longest (toughest) training I have this summer. I've got a lot of work I need to get done completed, but I still have 3 more big things to finish:
1. 5th grade song collection analysis (about 70+ songs)
2. Song retrieval system on Excel or Access (including of at least 200 songs)
3. Finding sources for all songs in my song collection.
I've been told, I know, and I've experienced that one of the best parts about being a school teacher is that we get the summer off. I doubt this summer will feel like a vacation. I define vacation that an event or time period that is used strictly for one's leisure; it's a time when you reward and treat yourself after working hard for a period of time. My "vacation" will be spent attending 3 trainings, prepping for one of them (that directly affects my career). The best part about this summer is the fact that I won't have to wake up at 5:30 am each morning. But besides that, the biggest and best highlight, professionally speaking, is that after my Kodály training is finished, I'll have earned the prestigious title of Kodály Music Specialist. To me, the only title that could be cooler than adding that to my e-mail signatures would be a small acronym: Ph.D. But if that even happens, it won't happen for a few years. Although, now that I have 3 years of teaching experience under my belt, I have the minimum amount required to apply for a Ph.D in music education. So that'll be awesome.
Another nice thing about this summer is that come August, I'll have made my 36th consecutive payment on my student loans, and I will be rewarded a 1% interest rate reduction. That's both exciting and anticlimactic at the same time because of all the debt I have, my student loans have the lowest interest rate at the moment...except maybe for my car refinancing. That shit went down from 8.34 to 3.4%! My credit cards remain the most expensive rate, each over 10%.
Anyway, I hope to have a wonderful summer. Another amazing perk is that Frank and I will be celebrating our 4th anniversary on June 6th. Four years together, and still totally in love!
Another thing I'll be working on is finishing Broken Government. I really want to get that done. Because of how reading that book has pissed me off every time I've read a chapter, I'm finishing it now more out of discipline than wanting to read more...which is not the goal of reading, at least not for what I'm trying to accomplish. Maybe when I'm finished, I should read a book of fiction, where a story with a plot is told. I remember from high school that the books I enjoyed reading the most were the ones that had a lot of dialogue. If it's nothing but description, I'll get bored easily. I like to follow conversations, especially when they get heated between characters.
Okay. I'm gonna get off this and watch this week's episode of Glee I missed because of a True Blood event I attended.
Ahh, sweet summer...I've missed you!
Monday, May 31, 2010
The Book Blogs - Broken Government - Judicial Branch
I've started reading the 3rd chapter about the state of the Judicial Branch. It's an easier read than the 2 previous chapters for the main reason that it's not PISSING ME OFF like the other chapters did.
That being said, I haven't posted on my blog in a long time, longer than I wanted to go without posting. I haven't done so mostly because I've been too lazy to discipline myself to sit down and take the time out to write about whatever. Also, I hadn't been writing because I had stopped reading the book. I had stopped reading it because the last 2 chapters I read really upset me...to the point where I wasn't sure if I was going to even want to finish it. But yesterday, while Frank was reading his new book What Jesus Meant, I decided to be productive and pulled out the book and started reading chapter 3. I want to say I got maybe half way through. It's a LONG chapter!
This book has made me reaffirm something else about books that affect how I read them: Since I already have a hard enough time looking forward to reading, I need some frequent senses of accomplishment as I read. And these "accomplishments" come in the form of finishing chapters. If chapters are short, I'll finish it faster because I'll see my progress which, in turn, motivates me to read more and ultimately finish. If the book has few chapters, the book better be damn short, because I *hate* chapters that are 50 pages long. I hate that. And this current 3rd chapter in Broken Government is like 70 pages long. Grrr.
Besides the layout of the book, school has gotten busier, and I've had to deal with burn-out issues. Today is Memorial Day (thank you, troops!), and tomorrow is Tuesday, June 1st. Our last day of school is Thursday, June 3rd. That pisses. me. off. I *hate* that out school year goes into June! Ugh! The kids are tired and have checked out. And the teachers, including myself, probably checked out after Spring Break. I don't want to go back to school tomorrow. In fact, even though today is Monday, I feel like it's a Sunday since we had a 3-day weekend. And don't get me wrong; as much as I LOVE 3-day weekends, this one is always hard because it's a big tease before the summer comes. That's just fucked up. *shrugs* WHY?! Why make us teachers, who work so hard all year, be teased this way? Are we seriously just supposed to fill a certain number of working days? Because if that's the reason why we're going into June, then that's stupid. I'm sorry, but it is. Anyway, I should probably shut up considering there are plenty of people who wish they had the same 3 months off (paid) that teachers do. I'm bitching about how I have 3 more days of school left, and other people have to earn vacation time. For us, it's part of the package.
I'll make it, but I'll probably bitch on the way out about how school should've ended on Friday, May 28th. The good news is that next year, we DON'T go into June, and we'll have a week off for Thanksgiving as well as Spring Break. That I think is appropriate; a week off in the Fall, and a week off in the Spring, with 2 weeks off between semesters...and the random days off we get sporadically.
Back to the book.
So, this chapter about the Judicial Branch is pretty much talking about how those justices whom have served on it, how they've become nominated, and how the parties in power have affected which judges end up serving. It also explained something I didn't know about, but am not surprised about; we have apparently 4 different types of judges: minimalists, fundamentalists, and 2 others I can't recall. But the most common were these 2 I've mentioned. I can't remember what the deal was with minimalist judges, but fundamentalist judges are those who base their decisions by interpreting the Constitution as it was written in its time. So they apply it to a contemporary situation based on its original context. I thought it was interesting, but this chapter isn't anywhere nearly as fired up in its writing as the previous 2 chapters were. But I'm not finished with this one either. The author is about to discuss how the branch was affected by Bush Sr.'s reign, as well as W's reign, and they both have a few pages dedicated to themselves.
Frank already finished his book, which made me slightly jealous because I wish I could read faster than I do. That's the main reason why I don't buy books that become movies. I've never read any of the Lord of the Rings series, nor The Chronicles of Narnia, nor the Harry Potter series. None of them, because as thick as those books are, it'll take me forever to finish whereas I can enjoy the story (though I know they're not usually faithful to their books) by watching a movie and be finished in a few hours. I know people who've read books...BIG books, within a 24-hour period. I don't know if I could ever do that.
*sigh* I better finish this post. I have some work I gave myself to do that I need to have ready to distribute to my students over the next couple of days. These last 3 days will be CRAZY.
That being said, I haven't posted on my blog in a long time, longer than I wanted to go without posting. I haven't done so mostly because I've been too lazy to discipline myself to sit down and take the time out to write about whatever. Also, I hadn't been writing because I had stopped reading the book. I had stopped reading it because the last 2 chapters I read really upset me...to the point where I wasn't sure if I was going to even want to finish it. But yesterday, while Frank was reading his new book What Jesus Meant, I decided to be productive and pulled out the book and started reading chapter 3. I want to say I got maybe half way through. It's a LONG chapter!
This book has made me reaffirm something else about books that affect how I read them: Since I already have a hard enough time looking forward to reading, I need some frequent senses of accomplishment as I read. And these "accomplishments" come in the form of finishing chapters. If chapters are short, I'll finish it faster because I'll see my progress which, in turn, motivates me to read more and ultimately finish. If the book has few chapters, the book better be damn short, because I *hate* chapters that are 50 pages long. I hate that. And this current 3rd chapter in Broken Government is like 70 pages long. Grrr.
Besides the layout of the book, school has gotten busier, and I've had to deal with burn-out issues. Today is Memorial Day (thank you, troops!), and tomorrow is Tuesday, June 1st. Our last day of school is Thursday, June 3rd. That pisses. me. off. I *hate* that out school year goes into June! Ugh! The kids are tired and have checked out. And the teachers, including myself, probably checked out after Spring Break. I don't want to go back to school tomorrow. In fact, even though today is Monday, I feel like it's a Sunday since we had a 3-day weekend. And don't get me wrong; as much as I LOVE 3-day weekends, this one is always hard because it's a big tease before the summer comes. That's just fucked up. *shrugs* WHY?! Why make us teachers, who work so hard all year, be teased this way? Are we seriously just supposed to fill a certain number of working days? Because if that's the reason why we're going into June, then that's stupid. I'm sorry, but it is. Anyway, I should probably shut up considering there are plenty of people who wish they had the same 3 months off (paid) that teachers do. I'm bitching about how I have 3 more days of school left, and other people have to earn vacation time. For us, it's part of the package.
I'll make it, but I'll probably bitch on the way out about how school should've ended on Friday, May 28th. The good news is that next year, we DON'T go into June, and we'll have a week off for Thanksgiving as well as Spring Break. That I think is appropriate; a week off in the Fall, and a week off in the Spring, with 2 weeks off between semesters...and the random days off we get sporadically.
Back to the book.
So, this chapter about the Judicial Branch is pretty much talking about how those justices whom have served on it, how they've become nominated, and how the parties in power have affected which judges end up serving. It also explained something I didn't know about, but am not surprised about; we have apparently 4 different types of judges: minimalists, fundamentalists, and 2 others I can't recall. But the most common were these 2 I've mentioned. I can't remember what the deal was with minimalist judges, but fundamentalist judges are those who base their decisions by interpreting the Constitution as it was written in its time. So they apply it to a contemporary situation based on its original context. I thought it was interesting, but this chapter isn't anywhere nearly as fired up in its writing as the previous 2 chapters were. But I'm not finished with this one either. The author is about to discuss how the branch was affected by Bush Sr.'s reign, as well as W's reign, and they both have a few pages dedicated to themselves.
Frank already finished his book, which made me slightly jealous because I wish I could read faster than I do. That's the main reason why I don't buy books that become movies. I've never read any of the Lord of the Rings series, nor The Chronicles of Narnia, nor the Harry Potter series. None of them, because as thick as those books are, it'll take me forever to finish whereas I can enjoy the story (though I know they're not usually faithful to their books) by watching a movie and be finished in a few hours. I know people who've read books...BIG books, within a 24-hour period. I don't know if I could ever do that.
*sigh* I better finish this post. I have some work I gave myself to do that I need to have ready to distribute to my students over the next couple of days. These last 3 days will be CRAZY.
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
The Book Blogs - Broken Government
I've completed reading the 2nd chapter, all about how the Executive Branch is broken and in need of repair. Though Dean clearly has a justifiable disdain for Republican governance, it's clear his disdain and disapproval increases, and is passed on to the reader, towards Dick Cheney.
To briefly summarize this chapter, Dean's argument mainly consisted of a theory...a theory that the president should be exercising more power than he has the right to. If this theory is enacted, then political corruption is the clear result. When our government was established over 2 centuries ago, our founding fathers made it clear that they didn't want their government resembling the monarchy they tried to declare independence against. The president would not be a dictator, and the power of the government would not be concentrated in one lone entity. Rather, they implemented a system of checks and balances. Remember that term from Political Science 101? It's a system that makes sure all 3 branches of government - legislative (Senate and House of Representatives), executive (president and vice president), and judicial (Supreme Court Justices) - would ensure that neither of the other branches would ever embrace any form of corruption. They'd ensure that no branch was acting autonomously. Each branch should ideally work together to create and uphold laws and resolutions that would serve to *benefit* the people, aka, the citizens of the United States of America.
But...
In Dick Cheney's mind, the president is entitled to virtually unlimited power, and should run the government that way. Doing so makes it inevitable for checks and balances preventing corruption to become essentially nullified. What does that do as a result? It can, over time, change the way a country is run. And for 8 years our "misunderestimated" president turned a country founded on beliefs of democracy to become an almost fascist nation, in which corporations and the wealthiest of the wealthy were, in effect, running the country: a plutonomy.
*sigh*
Reading this chapter of the book angered me to the point where I nearly stopped reading. I was so pissed off! I felt so disgusted and betrayed! I didn't even vote for that asshole! But before I'd let my anger and resentment take hold of me, I was able to take a step back and remember that our country is now run by someone who knows how to pronounce "nuclear." And then I was able to calm down again.
It's not the first time a book has upset me because what I'm reading in it hurts me as I recall events passed during W's reign. However, if I haven't finished the book (which I haven't, otherwise I would've said that already), it's mostly because it's gotten difficult to read. Though it discusses events that are in our past, and our country is now headed in a better (*I* believe) direction, it all too frequently makes me reminisce of what was among our darkest years in our country.
The next chapter I have to read is all about the judicial branch, and the final and 4th chapter will discuss what "repairs" are needed to bring this country back to its greater glory.
Given how busy - and tired! - I am after school and how lazy I am on the weekends, I don't know when I'll finish the book. I hope to have it finished before school's over. It's barely mid-April, and the last day of school is June 3rd. We'll see.
As for my love of reading, it's still about the same as it has always been. I don't know if it's the subject matter of Broken Government that is keeping me from falling in love with reading. If I was in love, I wouldn't go days without reading like I do now. I'm still dealing with the fact that when I have time to read, I still elect to do other things with my time. The discipline isn't there at all. A part of me won't keep reading because the book upsets me. Another part of me doesn't read because I haven't disciplined myself to pick it up and do it.
Maybe I should pick a more light-hearted book. *shrugs* I don't know.
Okay, I'm off to bed now. That shrug was accompanied by a yawn.
To briefly summarize this chapter, Dean's argument mainly consisted of a theory...a theory that the president should be exercising more power than he has the right to. If this theory is enacted, then political corruption is the clear result. When our government was established over 2 centuries ago, our founding fathers made it clear that they didn't want their government resembling the monarchy they tried to declare independence against. The president would not be a dictator, and the power of the government would not be concentrated in one lone entity. Rather, they implemented a system of checks and balances. Remember that term from Political Science 101? It's a system that makes sure all 3 branches of government - legislative (Senate and House of Representatives), executive (president and vice president), and judicial (Supreme Court Justices) - would ensure that neither of the other branches would ever embrace any form of corruption. They'd ensure that no branch was acting autonomously. Each branch should ideally work together to create and uphold laws and resolutions that would serve to *benefit* the people, aka, the citizens of the United States of America.
But...
In Dick Cheney's mind, the president is entitled to virtually unlimited power, and should run the government that way. Doing so makes it inevitable for checks and balances preventing corruption to become essentially nullified. What does that do as a result? It can, over time, change the way a country is run. And for 8 years our "misunderestimated" president turned a country founded on beliefs of democracy to become an almost fascist nation, in which corporations and the wealthiest of the wealthy were, in effect, running the country: a plutonomy.
*sigh*
Reading this chapter of the book angered me to the point where I nearly stopped reading. I was so pissed off! I felt so disgusted and betrayed! I didn't even vote for that asshole! But before I'd let my anger and resentment take hold of me, I was able to take a step back and remember that our country is now run by someone who knows how to pronounce "nuclear." And then I was able to calm down again.
It's not the first time a book has upset me because what I'm reading in it hurts me as I recall events passed during W's reign. However, if I haven't finished the book (which I haven't, otherwise I would've said that already), it's mostly because it's gotten difficult to read. Though it discusses events that are in our past, and our country is now headed in a better (*I* believe) direction, it all too frequently makes me reminisce of what was among our darkest years in our country.
The next chapter I have to read is all about the judicial branch, and the final and 4th chapter will discuss what "repairs" are needed to bring this country back to its greater glory.
Given how busy - and tired! - I am after school and how lazy I am on the weekends, I don't know when I'll finish the book. I hope to have it finished before school's over. It's barely mid-April, and the last day of school is June 3rd. We'll see.
As for my love of reading, it's still about the same as it has always been. I don't know if it's the subject matter of Broken Government that is keeping me from falling in love with reading. If I was in love, I wouldn't go days without reading like I do now. I'm still dealing with the fact that when I have time to read, I still elect to do other things with my time. The discipline isn't there at all. A part of me won't keep reading because the book upsets me. Another part of me doesn't read because I haven't disciplined myself to pick it up and do it.
Maybe I should pick a more light-hearted book. *shrugs* I don't know.
Okay, I'm off to bed now. That shrug was accompanied by a yawn.
Sunday, April 4, 2010
The Book Blogs - Broken Government and The Art of Happiness
I've been very bad about reading the book. I'm almost through with the 2nd chapter, though. Its last section discusses the so-called evils of Dick Cheney. The next chapter will discuss the Judicial Branch as the chapter I'm currently on is discussing the Executive Branch (and the preceding chapter focused on the Legislative).
I remember when I started blogging about this book, I made it clear that more than anything, I was hoping my blogging would chronicle and reflect a change in my perception of reading; that I'd fall in love with it. I can say that definitely hasn't happened yet. Over the last few weeks, if I ever have a chance to read, I end up electing to do something else with my time. I'll get on Facebook, watch YouTube videos, clean the house, watch a DVD I've seen a million times (like Glee), whatever. Reading a book for leisure still hasn't become an active practice.
On the other hand...
This past Christmas, my wonderful Frank gave me an audio book. It's the first time I've even ever received one! It's a book co-authored by His Holiness the Dalai Lama and a psychiatrist, Howard Cutler, M.D. entitled "The Art of Happiness in a Troubled World". The audio book took me a few months to finish listening to it as it contained 14 hours on 11 CDs. Also, I had to discipline myself to listen to it over my iPod or the radio where I could enjoy hearing Taylor Swift sing about how some (super cute) guy belongs with her. Nevertheless, the book was FASCINATING! I learned so much about life, perceptions, emotions, the human condition, etc. The book is FILLED with information that I'm convinced can benefit multitudes of people. It'd take several blogs to even summarize it justly. The subject matter is honestly so complex, one really has to sit and listen to the entire book (or just read it) to fully grasp its message.
So since I've finished that book, let me say I HIGHLY recommend it. The Dalai Lama's tremendous depth of wisdom and insight, coupled with social and scientific research reviews make for a fascinating and enlightening read, to say the *least*.
*sigh*
I hope to blog again soon. Now that it's post-Spring Break at school, it's gonna be a whirlwind until Summer arrives! Got a house to maintain, a 52-member choir to direct for 5th grade graduation, and lots of work to prepare for Kodály Level III this July.
*looks up* Hey, Jesus, if you could resurrect yourself in 3 days, help me get through the next 60.
Amen.
- Posted from my iPhone
I remember when I started blogging about this book, I made it clear that more than anything, I was hoping my blogging would chronicle and reflect a change in my perception of reading; that I'd fall in love with it. I can say that definitely hasn't happened yet. Over the last few weeks, if I ever have a chance to read, I end up electing to do something else with my time. I'll get on Facebook, watch YouTube videos, clean the house, watch a DVD I've seen a million times (like Glee), whatever. Reading a book for leisure still hasn't become an active practice.
On the other hand...
This past Christmas, my wonderful Frank gave me an audio book. It's the first time I've even ever received one! It's a book co-authored by His Holiness the Dalai Lama and a psychiatrist, Howard Cutler, M.D. entitled "The Art of Happiness in a Troubled World". The audio book took me a few months to finish listening to it as it contained 14 hours on 11 CDs. Also, I had to discipline myself to listen to it over my iPod or the radio where I could enjoy hearing Taylor Swift sing about how some (super cute) guy belongs with her. Nevertheless, the book was FASCINATING! I learned so much about life, perceptions, emotions, the human condition, etc. The book is FILLED with information that I'm convinced can benefit multitudes of people. It'd take several blogs to even summarize it justly. The subject matter is honestly so complex, one really has to sit and listen to the entire book (or just read it) to fully grasp its message.
So since I've finished that book, let me say I HIGHLY recommend it. The Dalai Lama's tremendous depth of wisdom and insight, coupled with social and scientific research reviews make for a fascinating and enlightening read, to say the *least*.
*sigh*
I hope to blog again soon. Now that it's post-Spring Break at school, it's gonna be a whirlwind until Summer arrives! Got a house to maintain, a 52-member choir to direct for 5th grade graduation, and lots of work to prepare for Kodály Level III this July.
*looks up* Hey, Jesus, if you could resurrect yourself in 3 days, help me get through the next 60.
Amen.
- Posted from my iPhone
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)