Thursday, February 28, 2008

Catching up is hard to do

For the last three weeks or so I have thought at the beginning of the week that I would be posting nearly every day that week. And every week something or some number of somethings has happened to take that train neat off the rails. This week it was work (I rock problem writing hard core-- I think I am getting a hang of my new setting. Woo-hoo! And also? Yee-ha!) and 100 days of school project for one little Monkey* [note: the * part below is me whining, in jest, about a school project. Please don't read that part if you are not in the mood, k?].

I have in my head about seven serious posts and at least three memes I owe people. I need to come back here, and I need to clear up the terrible back up in my reader. I got a little ways through it today, and I have high hopes for finishing that part tomorrow afternoon. For now, though, I feel like I should at least get one meme done. So I am going with the shortest one, I believe. Magpie tagged me for this one.

So, the rules:
1. Pick up the nearest book (of at least 123 pages)
2. Open the book to page 123
3. Find the 5th sentence
4. Post the next three sentences
5. Tag 5 people

The book is Truth and Consequences by Keith Olbermann, the host of The Countdown on MSNBC and the reason I went back to getting some of my news on TV. This is a compilation of his special comments from the show, and was a present to myself this past December, but I have not yet started reading. Of course I heard some of these when he first delivered them, but as it took me a while over the last year to start giving a crap about the world enough to worry about politics, it wasn't many that I heard in real time. So, without further ado, three sentences starting with the sixths sentence on page 123:

Which party rode roughshod over American's rights while braying that is was actually protecting them, Mr.Giuliani?
Which party took this country into the most utterly backwards, utterly counterproductive, utterly ruinous was in our history, Mr.Giuliani?
Which party has been in office as more Americans were killed in the pointless fields of Iraq than were killed in the consuming nightmare of 9/11, Mr.Giuliani?


Who knew you could say that stuff on TV?

I tag Lori, Tash (when she comes back from her gloriously warm vacation), Bon, Kate, and (new) Reality. And I so hope to do better by this blog, and starting soon.








*Next time a school project comes up, please, for the love of all that is holy, remind me that encouraging elaborate or even slightly complicated implementations is probably not in my best interest. They had to bring in a collection of 100 things. Examples in the mailing sent to parents were interesting and creative. We decided on 100 pictures Monkey took with her little $10 digital camera that she got for Hanukkah this year. We didn't think about how much time cutting up construction paper for backings for individual pictures was going to take. Nor the gluing of the pictures onto said backing, nor the gluing of the assembled pieces onto poster paper. Most kids just brought 100 of something. Like pennies or M&Ms.

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

My son and I did that last year and I made the exact same mistake. We made a game using 100 cards with 100 facts of things that happened 100 years ago.We spent hours looking up pictures and facts and printing and pasting those facts on the cards and darn it if they didn't even play the game because, of course, the were busy counting the 100 paper clips and 100 mms, etc. that others brought in.

Lori said...

Oh, yeah. I could have warned you about that 100 things assignment. Next time one of these comes up, definitely ask. Luckily I have an older child who is naturally inclined toward choosing the easiest option possible when it comes to school assignments. I think he took 100 pretzels and then promptly ate them.

Thanks for the tag! I will have re-read the requirements of this one. I'm starting to actually LOSE brain cells trying to deal with my kids homework! Is that the secret goal??

Anonymous said...

Monkey's young.....you'll learn!
Nancy

niobe said...

Huh. i have never, ever heard of this 100 days of school project before this year and now I seem to be seeing it everywhere. I guess for very, very young children, the assignment might give them an idea of how many 100 is, but I'm not sure what the rationale would be for any children old enough to know how to count. Maybe (and it certainly wouldn't be the first time) I'm missing the point.

Anonymous said...

I pawned the 100 day project off on A's father as I did the last 3 and I'm an artist so they were well beyond what most kids brought. His father took 100 smiley face stickers and made the number 100 out of them. want the easiest way to do it? ask a man ha ha. lesson learned.

Magpie said...

Good quote. And good riddance to Mr. Giuliani.

Where did this 100 days/100 things come from, anyway?

Amelie said...

I'd enjoy 100 m&ms. And thanks for the warning, should I ever get into that situation.
Hope the train stays on the tracks now for a while!

Anonymous said...

I will pull out my closest book in just a few minutes. . .

I am sure Monkey's project was the best in the class.

Anonymous said...

OHMYLORD, last year, for kindergarten, we did 100 tiny little stuffed gingham hearts from Ikea. They were about $5.00 and unusual.

This year, we went all out and crazygonuts. My daughter is very into making friendship bracelets and uses DMC embroidery floss, which I have lots of anyway, wound around little plastic bobbins and lined up like neat little floss bobbin soldiers in a plastic craft case.

She took 100 bobbins.

So annoying.

Heels
mundanesuperhero.com

Anonymous said...

Oooh, one more for you: a kindergartener, the daughter of a good friend, forgot about the 100 things until the last minute. Her older brothers (3 of them) filled a little container with 100 spitballs they made for her.

I was impressed.

Heels