Not to spoof Doback and Huff's Prestige Worldwide but apparently Rage Against The Levine is viewed in three continents and eight countries.
Canada (Have an idea who the reader is, OP, Class of 2006/IS 61)
Singapore (A certain Morris brother who likes a band named Phish)
Yet now, I'm puzzled....
England (?)
Czech Republic (It's like Wisconsin. Great, I got my ass kicked in Wisconsin. Harold Ramis "Stripes")
Australia (?)
Germany (?)
And the newest nation to pledge allegience to the Levine.....
Croatia (Someone is raging in the Balkans, that's cool.)
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Happy Hanukah
Besides the Driedel song, here's a little ditty to get us into the mood.
Happy Hanukah!!!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vrd9p47MPHg
Happy Hanukah!!!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vrd9p47MPHg
Monday, November 29, 2010
Michelle
Michelle and I went out to dinner and this song came on WCBS-FM. Enjoy this classic 1977 love jam!!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6HyLZWlJ1e8
For the win, What show did Marilyn McCoo host in the late 70s/early 80s?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6HyLZWlJ1e8
For the win, What show did Marilyn McCoo host in the late 70s/early 80s?
702 is 21
My first real teachable class was 702 for the 2001-02 school year. Everyday, period 7, I went to the bathroom and gave the thirty or so kids a great year of lessons. This was the first time I could say that I actually knew what I was doing and that my career choice was the best choice I could make. The year I spent with those kids was special and now that all of them have turned 21, YOU OWE ME A BEER!
702, you were an amazing class and still to this day, I have never said a disparaging word about you. You were all responsible in creating a truly great teacher and I was truly blessed to have taught you when you were all 12.
Don't get FUBAR'd, drink responsibly.
I hope to reunite with you guys and see what you are doing these days.
Much Love,
Mr. Levine
702, you were an amazing class and still to this day, I have never said a disparaging word about you. You were all responsible in creating a truly great teacher and I was truly blessed to have taught you when you were all 12.
Don't get FUBAR'd, drink responsibly.
I hope to reunite with you guys and see what you are doing these days.
Much Love,
Mr. Levine
You Don't Have To Be A Ranting New York Jew To Hate Lord Mayor
It seems that there are more of us who hate him then like him. From my friend at Perdido Street School, here is some joyous news concerning a possible Bloomberg presidential bid.
http://perdidostreetschool.blogspot.com/2010/11/heres-some-good-news-on-bloomberg-front.html
With the Cathie Black selection a done deal, Lord Mayor will soon feel the wrath of angry parents, students, teachers and politicians who see him as just another full of shit politician. I went to Syracuse and received two bachelor's degrees and went to Columbia where I attained two master's degrees. To be chancellor of the New York City Department of Education well all you have to do is be a rich friend of the Lord Mayor experience is optional.
Your day is coming Bloomberg, watch out, there are more of us than there are your rich friends and the people you've bought off in the media.
For my friends, call your councilman (Debbi Rose, James Oddo and Vincent Ignizio) and tell them you won't support them unless they stand up for us against the tyrant, non-secular Lord Mayor. Call your State Senators and Assemblymen/women to revoke Mayoral control because its a failure on all levels.
For my colleagues, tell Michael Mulgrew to grow a pair of balls and stop cowtowing to an idiot mayor and his faux chancellor. Stop being apathetic and DO SOMETHING!
http://perdidostreetschool.blogspot.com/2010/11/heres-some-good-news-on-bloomberg-front.html
With the Cathie Black selection a done deal, Lord Mayor will soon feel the wrath of angry parents, students, teachers and politicians who see him as just another full of shit politician. I went to Syracuse and received two bachelor's degrees and went to Columbia where I attained two master's degrees. To be chancellor of the New York City Department of Education well all you have to do is be a rich friend of the Lord Mayor experience is optional.
Your day is coming Bloomberg, watch out, there are more of us than there are your rich friends and the people you've bought off in the media.
For my friends, call your councilman (Debbi Rose, James Oddo and Vincent Ignizio) and tell them you won't support them unless they stand up for us against the tyrant, non-secular Lord Mayor. Call your State Senators and Assemblymen/women to revoke Mayoral control because its a failure on all levels.
For my colleagues, tell Michael Mulgrew to grow a pair of balls and stop cowtowing to an idiot mayor and his faux chancellor. Stop being apathetic and DO SOMETHING!
R.I.P Leslie Nielsen
Leslie Nielsen, who played Dr. Romanek in Airplane and Lt. Frank Drebin in The Naked Gun, passed away at the age of 84.
For us members of Generation X, Nielsen created two of the greatest roles in comedy history. I still love Frank Drebin. For my friends and I, to this day, can quote Nielsen verbatim, not too shabby for us Gen Xers.
Airplane! is now thirty years old and The Naked Gun is twenty-two years old, they are still just as funny as the first time I saw them way back when. When I mentioned the death of Leslie Nielsen in class, my eighth graders, who were born in 1997, stated that they have seen both movies and proclaimed them to be "funny".
In 2010, its nice to see that 13 year olds have a great appreciation of the classic comedies that I saw when I was younger.
If you know a great Nielsen line, post it, so we all can remember his genius.
For us members of Generation X, Nielsen created two of the greatest roles in comedy history. I still love Frank Drebin. For my friends and I, to this day, can quote Nielsen verbatim, not too shabby for us Gen Xers.
Airplane! is now thirty years old and The Naked Gun is twenty-two years old, they are still just as funny as the first time I saw them way back when. When I mentioned the death of Leslie Nielsen in class, my eighth graders, who were born in 1997, stated that they have seen both movies and proclaimed them to be "funny".
In 2010, its nice to see that 13 year olds have a great appreciation of the classic comedies that I saw when I was younger.
If you know a great Nielsen line, post it, so we all can remember his genius.
Sunday, November 28, 2010
Happy Birthday John Sousa
For 26 years, John Sousa has been a great friend of mine. I can say that he has been a concert pal, drinking buddy, groomsman and just one of the most hilarious people I now. He is a great husband, a terrific dad and the best damn programmer at EA Sports.
Movies That Make Me Procrastinate On A Sunday
I always hated William Zabka and its good that Ralph Macchio goes "blood" on him. I'm supposed to be food shopping. Shhhhhh!!!!!!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sWbFWHrJ0CU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sWbFWHrJ0CU
The Daily Bloomberg Had This To Say About Lord Mayor
The Daily Bloomberg is a pro-Bloomberg paper where King Mike can do wrong. If I had my way, I'd bring Michael Daly to the 61 lunchroom where the kids could go "blood" on him.
Michael Daly wake the f**k up and realize that Bloomberg is a dictator capable of doing what he pleases. His ideas have ruined the city and affirmed the idea there are two NY, one for the rich and one for the non-existent middle class and poor.
You are an insult to all fair and balanced journalists who try not to drink the Bloomberg Kool-Aid like your colleague Juan Gonzalez.
http://perdidostreetschool.blogspot.com/2010/11/michael-daly-bloomberg-not-king-except.html
For my readers, Perdido Street School is not me as is NYC Educator. They are two blogs written by ICE/TJC members (I belong to this caucus because Unity, Mulgrew and Weingarten are on the Bloomberg payroll. Perhaps rank and file teachers may wake up and see how badly our union f**ks us and join with a real caucus) who are insightful and usually right 100% of the time.
Enjoy and read their blogs.
Michael Daly wake the f**k up and realize that Bloomberg is a dictator capable of doing what he pleases. His ideas have ruined the city and affirmed the idea there are two NY, one for the rich and one for the non-existent middle class and poor.
You are an insult to all fair and balanced journalists who try not to drink the Bloomberg Kool-Aid like your colleague Juan Gonzalez.
http://perdidostreetschool.blogspot.com/2010/11/michael-daly-bloomberg-not-king-except.html
For my readers, Perdido Street School is not me as is NYC Educator. They are two blogs written by ICE/TJC members (I belong to this caucus because Unity, Mulgrew and Weingarten are on the Bloomberg payroll. Perhaps rank and file teachers may wake up and see how badly our union f**ks us and join with a real caucus) who are insightful and usually right 100% of the time.
Enjoy and read their blogs.
Desert Island Disc #2 and #3
Desert Island Disc #2-The River-Bruce Springsteen and the E. Street Band (1980)-Columbia/CBS
Desert Island Disc #3-Born In The USA-Bruce Springsteen and the E. Street Band (1984)-Columbia/CBS
This is without question my favorite Bruce Springsteen albums.
The River came out when I was ten and I know what you're thinking, "How did you get the record?" I didn't. I heard "Hungry Heart" on WNBC (say it like Pig Vomit on Private Parts") played on the Captain Frank show. I also saw a cheap video of the song on America's Top 10 with Casey Kasem where the song was played to a three-and-a-half minute concert snippet of "Rosalita" from 1978. It kind of looked like a Kung Fu movie where the character speaks but the words just don't match up. I would drop a quarter in the Golden Dove jukebox when my dad came to take Mitchell and I to Boy Scouts and when it was played at Skate Odyssey (raise your lighters for Skate Odyssey), I would attempt to roller skate, fall on my ass and then in my embarassment, return to the pinball machines to hear the rest of the song.
I bought a CD copy of Born In The USA after I got "Bruce Fever" in 8th Grade. I hopped the Springsteen train in 1984. I was able to see Bruce play one of the shows at the Brendan Byrne Arena before it sold out to become the Continental Airlines Arena, the Izod Center and before that stupid Xanadu Mall (complete with that phallic symbol you can see from ten miles away) swallowed the arena up. He played over three hours and for an impressionable kid like me it was my favorite show (until the Dead and Phish entered) for a long time. He then returned in 1985 to play six shows at Giants Stadium. My friend Jesse Lynn and I went to one show where at 15, we met Leo Da Scalpa. Yes, at 15, Jesse and I scalped our first tickets (before Stub Hub). The plan was to buy three tickets from Leo but Norman backed out. So the two of us meet this guy outside of J&R thinking he would look like Mike Damone from Fast Times. He was a heavy set guy and fortunately Jesse was convincing enough to tell him we were only buying two tickets. He then tells us to walk across Park Row into City Hall Park where he sold us the tickets ($60 a ticket) and did not kick the crap out of us.
A few weeks later we are going to the show at Giants Stadium. Jesse's dad, his mom and sister drive us to the Port Authority. New York in 1985 was a far cry from the oligarchal state that it is now since Rudy and Bloomberg decided to clean it up. Outside the Port Authority, it was Hell's Kitchen (not the Gordon Ramsay show) a festering, gross, Midnight Cowboyesque New York neighborhood where anything could go on. Today, 9th Avenue is a trendy neighborhood of fine dining and overpriced apartments but 25 years ago, well, you could have paid to receive a "good time" from one of the friendly women who would knock on your window to ask if you wanted to pony up the money to have a good time. Jesse's dad drove up to 9th Avenue and 41st Street and at a red light this situation occurred.
Yours truly was looking at one of the women by the Port Authority who looked like a cast off from Pat Benatar's "Love Is A Battlefield" video. Scantily clad with high leather boots, I can only guess that she noticed a very, well, over-eager 15 year old staring at her. Maybe she thought I was a baller but the following dialogue occurred between Jesse, Michelle and I. Twenty-five years later, as I type this, I still laugh.....just as it happened one August day in 1985.
Jesse-"Levine, did that hooker just....Holy Crap Levine! Did she just show you her boobs?"
Me-"Jess, shut up, shut up...."
Jesse-"She did, she did, holy s**t! That hooker flashed you."
Michelle Lynn-"Dad, the hooker just flashed Levine!"
Shelly Lynn-"Way to go Levine!"
That's the story, I'm sticking to it. If my friend Jesse is reading this blog, he'll back the story up.
I had the opportunity to see The River and Born In The USA played from start-to-finish in 2008/2009 but after seeing too many Phish shows, I took a pass and regret the decision. A decision I regret still to this day but Bruce Springsteen's The River and Born In The USA are still in my desert island discs not for the above story but for the music.
Best Song on Born In The USA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CzFJV3FuOI0Best Song on The River-My favorite Springsteen song of all-time
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=46dEVLFvze4Saturday, November 27, 2010
Desert Island Albums-Number 1
If stuck on a desert island, like Staten Island, here are some of RATL's favorite CDs. They are in no particular order or genre.
1. Lifes Rich Paegant (1986)-R.E.M.-I.R.S. Records
Everybody loved Murmur and Reckoning and scratched their head at the disappointing Fables of the Reconstruction album that followed their first two masterpieces. This album marked a turning point where R.E.M. put together a great album where people actually began to understand just what the hell Michael Stipe was singing.
Driver 8 and Can't Get There From Here put R.E.M. on my radar screen then I worked backwards to hear the undecipherable lyrics of Murmur and Reckoning. Sure the first two albums are amazing but sometimes music can paint the image of where you were or what you were like or can just hook you into an amazing band whose music is still relevant in 2010 as it was in 1986.
I was 16, a junior in high school and when this album was released, I walked into Record Town and gave Joe Chebli twenty bucks and bought the first three R.E.M. albums on compact disc (back then, they were packaged in the long boxes, much easier to open then the compact discs of today but with Limewire, that is a thing of the past). Only a few of my friends liked R.E.M.-Norman Eng and Andrew Zito. Jesse and John (who got on board in 1987) were still in their hardcore punk days but now can attest to why this album is on my desert island playlist.
The album has the three songs I want to hear when I see R.E.M.---Begin The Begin, These Days and I Believe. The other songs are good, Fall On Me is an environmental anthem, Cuyahoga was played on Election Day 2004 to protest the Republican bullying in Cleveland, Hyena and Just A Touch were songs that were played on the Murmur and Reckoning tours and Superman, sung by Mike Mills, who was still wearing those nerd glasses.
R.E.M. is my all-time favorite band. I saw them play twice at the Felt Forum in November 1986 and have never missed a time or tour since 1986. These links are from the Green Tour where as a freshman at Syracuse University, I stood in the fourth row with my friends Ted Barron and Joanna Lovinger screaming the words and just losing my mind. The Begin The Begin link is from 2004 with Eddie Vedder who could have made a better induction speech for R.E.M when they were inducted into that sham of a hall of fame.
I Believe
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AyGW6jUGtrM&feature=related
Begin The Begin
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7XaoF8bDMcM
These Days
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DLLibnwtEBI
1. Lifes Rich Paegant (1986)-R.E.M.-I.R.S. Records
Everybody loved Murmur and Reckoning and scratched their head at the disappointing Fables of the Reconstruction album that followed their first two masterpieces. This album marked a turning point where R.E.M. put together a great album where people actually began to understand just what the hell Michael Stipe was singing.
Driver 8 and Can't Get There From Here put R.E.M. on my radar screen then I worked backwards to hear the undecipherable lyrics of Murmur and Reckoning. Sure the first two albums are amazing but sometimes music can paint the image of where you were or what you were like or can just hook you into an amazing band whose music is still relevant in 2010 as it was in 1986.
I was 16, a junior in high school and when this album was released, I walked into Record Town and gave Joe Chebli twenty bucks and bought the first three R.E.M. albums on compact disc (back then, they were packaged in the long boxes, much easier to open then the compact discs of today but with Limewire, that is a thing of the past). Only a few of my friends liked R.E.M.-Norman Eng and Andrew Zito. Jesse and John (who got on board in 1987) were still in their hardcore punk days but now can attest to why this album is on my desert island playlist.
The album has the three songs I want to hear when I see R.E.M.---Begin The Begin, These Days and I Believe. The other songs are good, Fall On Me is an environmental anthem, Cuyahoga was played on Election Day 2004 to protest the Republican bullying in Cleveland, Hyena and Just A Touch were songs that were played on the Murmur and Reckoning tours and Superman, sung by Mike Mills, who was still wearing those nerd glasses.
R.E.M. is my all-time favorite band. I saw them play twice at the Felt Forum in November 1986 and have never missed a time or tour since 1986. These links are from the Green Tour where as a freshman at Syracuse University, I stood in the fourth row with my friends Ted Barron and Joanna Lovinger screaming the words and just losing my mind. The Begin The Begin link is from 2004 with Eddie Vedder who could have made a better induction speech for R.E.M when they were inducted into that sham of a hall of fame.
I Believe
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AyGW6jUGtrM&feature=related
Begin The Begin
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7XaoF8bDMcM
These Days
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DLLibnwtEBI
Bucket List #2
With all my anger being vented at politicians and my union, I have decided to add some heartfelt messages. Many people have liked the Bucket List posting so I present the second addition to my Bucket List.
Bucket List #2-Less Technology and More Talking to Family
I'll admit it, I love technology. Maybe its the testosterone, maybe its the desire to stay on the cutting edge or perhaps its my ego to show my students what I have but only recently I have learned that staying on my phone has well...made me a target for criticism by family. I loved my Blackberry, I love my Droid, I love my Nook (Michelle's 40th birthday present), I love my iPod (the 160gb is cool but am waiting for one the size of my hard drive) and I love my iPad (Mitchell and Sloane, I am so glad you got Dad (nod nod wink wink)) to get my one. For my readers, I told my sister-in-law that I was expecting a Halloween Phish ticket, but I so love my iPad, a lot. In the immortal words of Ferris Bueller, "it is so choice".
With technology comes addiction and after my stint with Dr. Drew, Eric Roberts, Janice Dickinson, Brandon Davis and all the junkies on Celebrity Rehab (I, as you know, am the lead singer of the Maroon 5 when I'm not teaching, married to Michelle and raising my kids (biological and educational)), I have come to realize that I WAS ALWAYS ON MY F*****G PHONE! I am now recovering in DA (Droid Anonymous) in a wonderful one step program-the philosophy-DON'T BRING THE PHONE TO FAMILY FUNCTIONS!
My drugs were fantasy football and facebook and every Sunday (which has been my traditional day with my family) that I spent with my family, there I was, DROIDING away-saying hello to far-off friends and ex-students or refreshing my fantasy game to see how far behind or ahead I was for the week. Ignoring my wife, my kids, my extended family seemed to be ok but it took my brother and brother-in-law to lace into me. This, along with my own realization that I was being a "technological jerk" has led me to change my ways now that I'm forty. I'm glad that Craig and Mitchell did tell me this because if not, I probably would have become a persona non grata and never be invited to any family functions ever again.
I'm one month into DA and am now three-for-three on my new way of living. I attended a family dinner with Mitchell, my Uncle Martin and my cousins Larry and Andrew with the phone in my pocket. I spoke, for a long time, about what my grandfather means to me and how much it pains me to see him age. I called Mitchell the next day and told him how much I enjoyed being with him and my cousins. I attended Thanksgiving at my in-laws (I told Craig that I was posting this blog and explained his significance to this post. He was quite pleased) and spoke for a while to my family. Last night, Mitchell and Sloane (I can't believe Sloane can cook all that food.) had a post holiday dinner and admitted to my past problem. Your family is your rock and I'm glad Mitchell and Craig (with occasional rants from Michelle) told me this. I am real happy that I am following this new mantra and instead of being one day at a time, its one family function at a time.
To all my readers, don't be a shmuck like me, talk to your family not on your phone. Makes a world of difference......
Bucket List #2-Less Technology and More Talking to Family
I'll admit it, I love technology. Maybe its the testosterone, maybe its the desire to stay on the cutting edge or perhaps its my ego to show my students what I have but only recently I have learned that staying on my phone has well...made me a target for criticism by family. I loved my Blackberry, I love my Droid, I love my Nook (Michelle's 40th birthday present), I love my iPod (the 160gb is cool but am waiting for one the size of my hard drive) and I love my iPad (Mitchell and Sloane, I am so glad you got Dad (nod nod wink wink)) to get my one. For my readers, I told my sister-in-law that I was expecting a Halloween Phish ticket, but I so love my iPad, a lot. In the immortal words of Ferris Bueller, "it is so choice".
With technology comes addiction and after my stint with Dr. Drew, Eric Roberts, Janice Dickinson, Brandon Davis and all the junkies on Celebrity Rehab (I, as you know, am the lead singer of the Maroon 5 when I'm not teaching, married to Michelle and raising my kids (biological and educational)), I have come to realize that I WAS ALWAYS ON MY F*****G PHONE! I am now recovering in DA (Droid Anonymous) in a wonderful one step program-the philosophy-DON'T BRING THE PHONE TO FAMILY FUNCTIONS!
My drugs were fantasy football and facebook and every Sunday (which has been my traditional day with my family) that I spent with my family, there I was, DROIDING away-saying hello to far-off friends and ex-students or refreshing my fantasy game to see how far behind or ahead I was for the week. Ignoring my wife, my kids, my extended family seemed to be ok but it took my brother and brother-in-law to lace into me. This, along with my own realization that I was being a "technological jerk" has led me to change my ways now that I'm forty. I'm glad that Craig and Mitchell did tell me this because if not, I probably would have become a persona non grata and never be invited to any family functions ever again.
I'm one month into DA and am now three-for-three on my new way of living. I attended a family dinner with Mitchell, my Uncle Martin and my cousins Larry and Andrew with the phone in my pocket. I spoke, for a long time, about what my grandfather means to me and how much it pains me to see him age. I called Mitchell the next day and told him how much I enjoyed being with him and my cousins. I attended Thanksgiving at my in-laws (I told Craig that I was posting this blog and explained his significance to this post. He was quite pleased) and spoke for a while to my family. Last night, Mitchell and Sloane (I can't believe Sloane can cook all that food.) had a post holiday dinner and admitted to my past problem. Your family is your rock and I'm glad Mitchell and Craig (with occasional rants from Michelle) told me this. I am real happy that I am following this new mantra and instead of being one day at a time, its one family function at a time.
To all my readers, don't be a shmuck like me, talk to your family not on your phone. Makes a world of difference......
Why I Don't Trust My Union?
Mulgrew is a flip-flopper. He is for, then against, now for Cathie Black.
If you are a veteran teacher, this support should scare the bejesus out of you. Mulgrew and Weingarten care little about us and it is so obvious. With Governor Cuomo wanting to end last in first out, the ATRs and then it will be the twenty year teachers, then the eighteen year teachers, then the fifteen year teachers. Guess who is a fifteen year teacher?
http://www.nycteachers.com/profiles/blogs/uft-pres-mikey-mulgrew-backs
If you are a veteran teacher, this support should scare the bejesus out of you. Mulgrew and Weingarten care little about us and it is so obvious. With Governor Cuomo wanting to end last in first out, the ATRs and then it will be the twenty year teachers, then the eighteen year teachers, then the fifteen year teachers. Guess who is a fifteen year teacher?
http://www.nycteachers.com/profiles/blogs/uft-pres-mikey-mulgrew-backs
I Shudder To Think What These Guys Would Think Of The US Today
"I hope we shall crush ... in its birth the aristocracy of our moneyed corporations, which dare already to challenge our government to a trial of strength and bid defiance to the laws of our country."
--Thomas Jefferson
"I see in the near future a crisis approaching that unnerves me and causes me to tremble for the safety of my country. . . . corporations have been enthroned and an era of corruption in high places will follow, and the money power of the country will endeavor to prolong its reign by working upon the prejudices of the people until all wealth is aggregated in a few hands and the Republic is destroyed."
-- U.S. President Abraham Lincoln, Nov. 21, 1864
--Thomas Jefferson
"I see in the near future a crisis approaching that unnerves me and causes me to tremble for the safety of my country. . . . corporations have been enthroned and an era of corruption in high places will follow, and the money power of the country will endeavor to prolong its reign by working upon the prejudices of the people until all wealth is aggregated in a few hands and the Republic is destroyed."
-- U.S. President Abraham Lincoln, Nov. 21, 1864
STOP BLOOMBERG
To all my friends, fellow students, their parents and TEACHERS,
The granting of a waiver for a non-educator only shows that if we don't mobilize, Bloomberg wins. Please read this and send to as many people that you who know who are teachers and parents. The fact that a true democracy in NYC has been eroded by an oligarchial tyrant is disheartening and sickening. If we DO NOTHING (yes, parents, students and teachers at IS 61 and all over NYC, your pathetic apathy has allowed this to happen) then we have allowed the billionaires and Bloomberg supporters to win this fight. I may never support Charles Barron but in this case he's right. Allowing billionaires with no educational background to run roughshod and make your education a playtoy will cost you and the future of New York City plenty. The DOE is a puppet organization run by a political demagogue who bought an illegal term, raised your property taxes, raised the sales tax from 8.25% TO 8.875%, cut services (6,100 teachers, fire, police, sanitation) eliminated the tax on clothes under $100 and when he leaves (IF HE EVER DOES), his fortune will be $30 billion up from $3 billion when the absolute monarch took office in 2001.
Its almost funny that as a social studies teacher, I have to say that we are a democracy. In NYC, this is so far from the truth. If this does not anger you then sit on your backside and watch the United States become a nation under an oligarchy. We elected three corporate bought politicians, its time to say enough is enough.
http://nycpublicschoolparents.blogspot.com/2010/11/powers-that-be-lesson-for-children-of.html
The granting of a waiver for a non-educator only shows that if we don't mobilize, Bloomberg wins. Please read this and send to as many people that you who know who are teachers and parents. The fact that a true democracy in NYC has been eroded by an oligarchial tyrant is disheartening and sickening. If we DO NOTHING (yes, parents, students and teachers at IS 61 and all over NYC, your pathetic apathy has allowed this to happen) then we have allowed the billionaires and Bloomberg supporters to win this fight. I may never support Charles Barron but in this case he's right. Allowing billionaires with no educational background to run roughshod and make your education a playtoy will cost you and the future of New York City plenty. The DOE is a puppet organization run by a political demagogue who bought an illegal term, raised your property taxes, raised the sales tax from 8.25% TO 8.875%, cut services (6,100 teachers, fire, police, sanitation) eliminated the tax on clothes under $100 and when he leaves (IF HE EVER DOES), his fortune will be $30 billion up from $3 billion when the absolute monarch took office in 2001.
Its almost funny that as a social studies teacher, I have to say that we are a democracy. In NYC, this is so far from the truth. If this does not anger you then sit on your backside and watch the United States become a nation under an oligarchy. We elected three corporate bought politicians, its time to say enough is enough.
http://nycpublicschoolparents.blogspot.com/2010/11/powers-that-be-lesson-for-children-of.html
Friday, November 26, 2010
NYC Parents Blog
As a parent, Bloomberg must go and NOW.....
http://nycpublicschoolparents.blogspot.com/2010/11/tone-deaf-mayor-turns-cathie-black.html
Two words for Bloomberg's "illegal" third term......ED KOCH! Now he is going to cut more services, let's party like its 1977.
My disdain and anger keeps growing the longer our Lord Mayor stays.
http://nycpublicschoolparents.blogspot.com/2010/11/tone-deaf-mayor-turns-cathie-black.html
Two words for Bloomberg's "illegal" third term......ED KOCH! Now he is going to cut more services, let's party like its 1977.
My disdain and anger keeps growing the longer our Lord Mayor stays.
Rodney Dangerfield Gets It....
Well with the Koreas about to go to war, just a snippet to why Back To School is still a historically relevant movie.....
Enjoy it and appreciate the comedic legacies of Rodney Dangerfield and Sam Kinison.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8bfgrj_62-Y
Enjoy it and appreciate the comedic legacies of Rodney Dangerfield and Sam Kinison.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8bfgrj_62-Y
Thursday, November 25, 2010
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
I'll Run Regardless of the Fact That I'm Jewish, an Elitist New Yorker and Have Not Been Bought By Corporate Overlords
http://perdidostreetschool.blogspot.com/2010/11/45-of-dems-want-to-see-obama-face.html
Voting for Obama in 2008 was single-handedly the most idiotic waste of a vote I ever casted. Sure the old man and his "ruh-tard" sidekick was worse but after two years of this guy I do hope some progressive centrist (Democrat or perhaps the GOP could resurrect my two favorite presidents-Theodore Roosevelt or Dwight Eisenhower) interested in saving whatever is left of the middle class, runs against this top-notch, elitist sham of a leader. Otherwise, the wealthiest 15% will own 100% of the wealth (85% isn't enough). Maybe Russ Feingold or Hillary Clinton (a centrist GOP candidate-Mitt Romney, is a Mormon, which may be worse than me being a Jew) runs and puts his corporate loving backside on an Air Force One trip back to Chicago. Obama is Herbert Hoover, Lyndon Johnson and Jimmy Carter rolled into a lying sack of crap and here's why.
Obama hates teachers, its obvious. He's hired Arne Duncan (who ruined the Chicago schools) to destroy public education through his Race for the Top. However, the AFT and NEA fawned when he promised Randi "Vichy France" Weingarten a "seat at the table". I hope the GOP keeps their promise and makes President Accountability and Transparency a one and done President. The GOP could cave since they hate teacher's unions but their leader Mitch McConnell (R/KY) has made it crystal clear that he wants Obama to be a one term President. Obama applauded the firings of the Rhode Island teachers and supports the Children Last reforms of our Lord Mayor For Life.
Obama's health care plan also affects my life. Rather than protecting public sector unions, Obama, in his infinite wisdom has decided that in 2014, employer-sponsored health care programs will have a 40% excise tax added to their health care plans. I know as a teacher, I do not make a lot, but in 1996, when I started, my co-payments were free and the hospital payment was $100. Today, these payments are now $15 and $300. Many of the top specialists in NYC do not take my plan and God forbid something detrimental should happen, I'm bankrupt. I don't think with a divided Congress this will change but as a breadwinner, I sure as hell hope someone runs who appreciates what the public sector does and not blame us for everything, much like Lord Mayor, Governor-elect Cuomo, Chris "William Howard Taft" Christie do everyday that they are in office.
Maybe he has a positive social agenda but doubling down in Afghanistan will cost the United States close to a half-trillion dollars in 2014. I know Presidents love to keep the corporate welfare system in place for the Department of Defense ($896 million in spending) but honestly will a superior military find bin Laden, uh, no. As someone who possesses a MA in history, Afghanistan is the graveyard of empires. Has anyone seen the Soviet Union? Next year, we will be in Afghanistan longer than they have but maybe people will see the forest for the trees and scratch their heads saying, "WTF, Obama?"
I love my job but allowing Obama another four years spells the end of the middle class for good. The same middle class that built this country will be a thing of the past, like Betamax, tape decks, the Walkman, the Atari 2600 and my washboard abs.
I thought it was change I could believe in but to me Obama is more of the same b.s. as Bush, Clinton and everyone who has occupied the White House since 1980.
Obama must go....NOW!!!
Voting for Obama in 2008 was single-handedly the most idiotic waste of a vote I ever casted. Sure the old man and his "ruh-tard" sidekick was worse but after two years of this guy I do hope some progressive centrist (Democrat or perhaps the GOP could resurrect my two favorite presidents-Theodore Roosevelt or Dwight Eisenhower) interested in saving whatever is left of the middle class, runs against this top-notch, elitist sham of a leader. Otherwise, the wealthiest 15% will own 100% of the wealth (85% isn't enough). Maybe Russ Feingold or Hillary Clinton (a centrist GOP candidate-Mitt Romney, is a Mormon, which may be worse than me being a Jew) runs and puts his corporate loving backside on an Air Force One trip back to Chicago. Obama is Herbert Hoover, Lyndon Johnson and Jimmy Carter rolled into a lying sack of crap and here's why.
Obama hates teachers, its obvious. He's hired Arne Duncan (who ruined the Chicago schools) to destroy public education through his Race for the Top. However, the AFT and NEA fawned when he promised Randi "Vichy France" Weingarten a "seat at the table". I hope the GOP keeps their promise and makes President Accountability and Transparency a one and done President. The GOP could cave since they hate teacher's unions but their leader Mitch McConnell (R/KY) has made it crystal clear that he wants Obama to be a one term President. Obama applauded the firings of the Rhode Island teachers and supports the Children Last reforms of our Lord Mayor For Life.
Obama's health care plan also affects my life. Rather than protecting public sector unions, Obama, in his infinite wisdom has decided that in 2014, employer-sponsored health care programs will have a 40% excise tax added to their health care plans. I know as a teacher, I do not make a lot, but in 1996, when I started, my co-payments were free and the hospital payment was $100. Today, these payments are now $15 and $300. Many of the top specialists in NYC do not take my plan and God forbid something detrimental should happen, I'm bankrupt. I don't think with a divided Congress this will change but as a breadwinner, I sure as hell hope someone runs who appreciates what the public sector does and not blame us for everything, much like Lord Mayor, Governor-elect Cuomo, Chris "William Howard Taft" Christie do everyday that they are in office.
Maybe he has a positive social agenda but doubling down in Afghanistan will cost the United States close to a half-trillion dollars in 2014. I know Presidents love to keep the corporate welfare system in place for the Department of Defense ($896 million in spending) but honestly will a superior military find bin Laden, uh, no. As someone who possesses a MA in history, Afghanistan is the graveyard of empires. Has anyone seen the Soviet Union? Next year, we will be in Afghanistan longer than they have but maybe people will see the forest for the trees and scratch their heads saying, "WTF, Obama?"
I love my job but allowing Obama another four years spells the end of the middle class for good. The same middle class that built this country will be a thing of the past, like Betamax, tape decks, the Walkman, the Atari 2600 and my washboard abs.
I thought it was change I could believe in but to me Obama is more of the same b.s. as Bush, Clinton and everyone who has occupied the White House since 1980.
Obama must go....NOW!!!
Things To Eat On Staten Island Before You Leave Or Die
Every year I seem to get into this conversation with my students about pizza and cringe when they state “Yo Mister! Best pizza on Staten Island is (cringing) Papa Johns!” " or “Levine, best pizza is the pizzeria (Albanian owned, yet, Albanian food is influenced by its close proximity to Italy) across the street from school!” or “Dominos!” There is some disparity between what I consider good pizza and what my 8th graders believe is good pizza.
Best pizza, hands down, Denino’s on Port Richmond Avenue. For anyone who has left the island, no trip back to the motherland should exclude the great pizza found on Port Richmond Avenue. Sure there are others, Joe and Pat’s (Victory Boulevard), Ciro’s (Huguenot Avenue), Lee’s Tavern (Garrettson Avenue/Dongan Hills), Salvatore’s of Soho (Hylan Boulevard) or even Brother’s (Forest Avenue/Port Richmond Avenue) but Denino’s is so good that my brother Mitchell (when he voyages across the gangplank-picks up a pie) and even my Uncle Martin (a devout foodie from Alpine, NJ) have eaten here. Unfortunately, the anti-Staten Island bias has prevented it from ever being considered as a great New York pizzeria.
Denino’s is an institution on Shao-Lin. It’s been on Staten Island since the 1930s and probably will be on Staten Island after I die. Today, Denino’s , much like Ralph’s has expanded into New Jersey where residents of northern Monmouth County line up to reminisce about life in the old country. Fortunately, as its reputation has developed, the renovations have expanded the size of the restaurant where now you can get a table in less than week.
What can I say about the pizza? As my students proclaim, “Yo! It’s mad good!” Who am I to disagree? The paper-thin crust, in my honest opinion, makes everything on top taste better. Even I, can stop being angry, and devour four slices in an epic win of gluttony. My honors class can wax poetic about the “addictive crust”, “the charred bottom from the pizza leaving the wood oven”, “the fresh sauce” and “the cheese”. Whatever the topping is above the crust, my students say, “its mad good!” I don’t get there as much as I would like because of Sophia’s dairy allergy but when I do (Monday night), give me a slice of M.O.R and in the words of my sister-in-law, Jennifer Finklestein, “Yummo!” (That's Rachael Ray but I love Jennifer and everyone knows Jennifer posts that in her facebook statuses.)
Sure there are other items on the menu. The appetizers are basic bar food and there are limited other choices besides the pizza. (Its almost sacrilegious to order something else, its like ordering chicken at Peter Luger or beef at Oceana, yet people do) It may take a while to get a seat but Denino’s is worth the wait. It’s a Shao-Lin summertime tradition to take your family to Denino’s then cross the street and get some Ralph’s.
What are you waiting for? Eat up.
What I'm Thankful For
As bitter as I am, as angry as I am, I do take the time and think about what I am thankful for. Here is the first annual What I'm Thankful For list. If I didn't thank you, thank you, for this list is all the things in my life that I love.
1) I am happy that I have survived forty years on Earth. I haven't had any major health crises, I have started to work out (back in my 30s) and I have cut back dramatically on my vices. I could eat more vegetables, more fiber and perhaps sit down for a breakfast. For however long I last, I'm just glad I'm still here, getting to watch my kids grow, watching my students learn and after seventeen years together, my wife still gets her nightly back rub to fall asleep.
2) My wife, my kids and my family. Michelle, I hope this blog is an indication of how much I love you. After seventeen years together, I still love you as much as the first day I saw you at the Choir Loft in 1993. I never go to sleep angry and have accepted that you are always right. Even the worse days make me a better person as the good days do. Without you, none of this possible and "I love you with all the madness in my soul." Ava and Sophia, my angels, you drive me crazy but when I see you how on Earth can I ever not love you or beat the stuffing out of you. My grandfather, my hero and mentor, everyday you live inspires me to be a great person and at 40, you are still just an awesome person. My parents who have accepted their roles of grandparents willingly and in return have four awesome grandchildren from my brother and I. My brother Mitchell (Sloane, Ethan and Charley, too) who always provides me with some perspective and advice so I don't screw up. I used to get angry but I do see the forest for the trees. My brother was instrumental in me creating this blog to channel my feelings and opinions. The Elias', the Finklesteins, the Levines and the Eichlers (my extended family), I love you. (Jennifer, my sister-in-law, here's a free muuuuaahhh!!!)
I have more thanks to give but the bell is going to ring. Rather than mark some work, I just wanted to thank some of the people who make me, well....me.
Keep On Raging In The Free World
1) I am happy that I have survived forty years on Earth. I haven't had any major health crises, I have started to work out (back in my 30s) and I have cut back dramatically on my vices. I could eat more vegetables, more fiber and perhaps sit down for a breakfast. For however long I last, I'm just glad I'm still here, getting to watch my kids grow, watching my students learn and after seventeen years together, my wife still gets her nightly back rub to fall asleep.
2) My wife, my kids and my family. Michelle, I hope this blog is an indication of how much I love you. After seventeen years together, I still love you as much as the first day I saw you at the Choir Loft in 1993. I never go to sleep angry and have accepted that you are always right. Even the worse days make me a better person as the good days do. Without you, none of this possible and "I love you with all the madness in my soul." Ava and Sophia, my angels, you drive me crazy but when I see you how on Earth can I ever not love you or beat the stuffing out of you. My grandfather, my hero and mentor, everyday you live inspires me to be a great person and at 40, you are still just an awesome person. My parents who have accepted their roles of grandparents willingly and in return have four awesome grandchildren from my brother and I. My brother Mitchell (Sloane, Ethan and Charley, too) who always provides me with some perspective and advice so I don't screw up. I used to get angry but I do see the forest for the trees. My brother was instrumental in me creating this blog to channel my feelings and opinions. The Elias', the Finklesteins, the Levines and the Eichlers (my extended family), I love you. (Jennifer, my sister-in-law, here's a free muuuuaahhh!!!)
I have more thanks to give but the bell is going to ring. Rather than mark some work, I just wanted to thank some of the people who make me, well....me.
Keep On Raging In The Free World
Hell Hath No Fury Like A Wom...Billionaire Cry Baby Mayor Scorned.
North Korea versus South Korea, pish posh. Iraq...fooey. Afghanistan, we will be broke in 2014 when Obama spends 500 million on a war we should have finished in 2002. This is the new war...please read and sign. As a parent of a two minority students in Public School, I care deeply about this because without a public school education, I'm nothing and neither are my Republican friends (who think I'm a leftist leaning Pinko a la Meathead from All In The Family). Bloomberg will push back and call us all idiots, but teachers, parents, administrators and students can stand together and unite.
http://nycpublicschoolparents.blogspot.com/2010/11/our-battle-is-not-over-sign-our-new.html
Here are some tunes to keep us strong.
1. The Hold Steady
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e-z5_JVng_w
2. The Ramones
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vexjWIvwsVg
3. Public Enemy
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2WHe5fxS3dA
In eight hours, its Thanksgiving break, so let's have a good day.
http://nycpublicschoolparents.blogspot.com/2010/11/our-battle-is-not-over-sign-our-new.html
Here are some tunes to keep us strong.
1. The Hold Steady
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e-z5_JVng_w
2. The Ramones
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vexjWIvwsVg
3. Public Enemy
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2WHe5fxS3dA
In eight hours, its Thanksgiving break, so let's have a good day.
Monday, November 22, 2010
Things I Learned Today
After a few disappointing 8th period classes (700/805), I have been blessed with a wonderful class which I affectionately call Table 9-an homage to The Wedding Singer. They never disappoint in things they tell me but I digress. Here are some historical facts that I learned today.
1. Detroit, Chicago, Indianapolis and Green Bay are states and not cities in Michigan, Illinois, Indiana and Wisconsin.
2. Hawaii is located right smack in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean.
3. Bill Clinton's father was the President of the United States before he was. Bill Clinton never knew his father.
4. Barack Obama's father was also the President of the United States before he was. Barack Obama's father was born in Kenya and therefore could not become President.
5. Theodore and Franklin Roosevelt were father and son and they too became President. They were 8th cousins.
6. The Oregon Trail ended in England.
7. The Oregon Trail ended in Mexico.
Questions I Asked
1. Name the six states created out of the Northwest Territory of 1787. (Since many of my students did not learn much in 7th Grade, I dumbed it down to NFL cities, just name the states.)
2. In which ocean can you find Hawaii?
3/4/5-Name the two father/son combinations to become President. (John/John Quincy Adams and George H.W. /George W. Bush)
6/7. Where did the Oregon Trail end?
In another class, they took fifteen minutes to answer: WHAT WAS THE NAME OF THE WAR BETWEEN THE UNITED STATES AND MEXICO CALLED?
If you old students remember a classic screwed-up answer stated in my class, please feel free to share.
1. Detroit, Chicago, Indianapolis and Green Bay are states and not cities in Michigan, Illinois, Indiana and Wisconsin.
2. Hawaii is located right smack in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean.
3. Bill Clinton's father was the President of the United States before he was. Bill Clinton never knew his father.
4. Barack Obama's father was also the President of the United States before he was. Barack Obama's father was born in Kenya and therefore could not become President.
5. Theodore and Franklin Roosevelt were father and son and they too became President. They were 8th cousins.
6. The Oregon Trail ended in England.
7. The Oregon Trail ended in Mexico.
Questions I Asked
1. Name the six states created out of the Northwest Territory of 1787. (Since many of my students did not learn much in 7th Grade, I dumbed it down to NFL cities, just name the states.)
2. In which ocean can you find Hawaii?
3/4/5-Name the two father/son combinations to become President. (John/John Quincy Adams and George H.W. /George W. Bush)
6/7. Where did the Oregon Trail end?
In another class, they took fifteen minutes to answer: WHAT WAS THE NAME OF THE WAR BETWEEN THE UNITED STATES AND MEXICO CALLED?
If you old students remember a classic screwed-up answer stated in my class, please feel free to share.
Bob Herbert-New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/20/opinion/20herbert.html?_r=2
Bob Herbert has an idea what is wrong with American public education. In New York City, he, along with a few other quality journalists, report that mayoral control is not all "sugar and spice" and everything nice.
For my old students, the actions of Lord Mayor will have a detrimental effect on your life, your child's life and all future generations.
Please read the piece and chime in with any thoughts that you may have. Hopefully, a middle class revolution will occur and the richest 20% will stop owning 85% of the wealth and maybe the American dream will survive in the 21st century.
Bob Herbert has an idea what is wrong with American public education. In New York City, he, along with a few other quality journalists, report that mayoral control is not all "sugar and spice" and everything nice.
For my old students, the actions of Lord Mayor will have a detrimental effect on your life, your child's life and all future generations.
Please read the piece and chime in with any thoughts that you may have. Hopefully, a middle class revolution will occur and the richest 20% will stop owning 85% of the wealth and maybe the American dream will survive in the 21st century.
Have A Short Week!!!!
A song which states any administrator, teacher, parent, student and any other working stiff working for a corporate overlord would dig.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vwoo2Rp-pww
Have a great abridged week and to my old students who have heard this joke before.....
GET TO WEDNESDAY OR DIE TRYING!!!!!!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vwoo2Rp-pww
Have a great abridged week and to my old students who have heard this joke before.....
GET TO WEDNESDAY OR DIE TRYING!!!!!!!
Sunday, November 21, 2010
http://www.nysun.com/new-york/public-deserves-full-hearing-on-bloombergs/87139/
Public Deserves Full Hearing on Bloomberg’s Nominee for Chancellor of Schools
How Far Has the City Come Under Mayoral Control?
By ANDREW WOLF, Special to the Sun | November 14, 2010
http://www.nysun.com/new-york/public-deserves-full-hearing-on-bloombergs/87139/
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ShareBefore Cathie Black gets a waiver to come in as Mayor Bloomberg’s schools chancellor, there should be a proper hearing in Albany. It would provide a moment not only to explore whether Ms. Black is the right person for the job but to assess how far the city has actually come under mayoral control of the schools.
The mayor, who fashions himself as a great educational reformer, wants New Yorkers to believe that he has found the magic formula that can be executed by any fine manager, even one who, like Ms. Black, is without any educational experience. But where’s the magic?The fact is that under Mr. Bloomberg’s formula, New Yorkers have increased the education budget to $21 billion a year from $13 billion but have seen only the tiniest increase in student performance, continuing a pattern of similar (and often larger) gains that were being posted by the old, much maligned and allegedly “dysfunctional” Board of Education.
The “historic gains” boasted of last year, when the mayor won reelection, evaporated this year with the admission by the newly installed State Education Commissioner, David Steiner, that New York State tests in grades 3 through 8 had, for the past few years, been wildly inflated. The extreme nature of this situation has, in my opinion, been largely understated.
This deception — and no one should think that it is anything but — was not to help the children, who are, after all, demonstrably worse off by not having been told the truth, but rather to benefit the adults who run the schools. Beneficiaries included Mr. Steiner’s predecessor, Richard Mills, who boasted of the state’s soaring test scores as proof of his success, and Mayor Bloomberg, who used those scores as part of his $100 million campaign for re-election.
The federal No Child Left Behind law has its critics, but it did force policy makers to try to achieve increased scores, with the unrealistic goal of making all children proficient in math and reading by 2014. It was an invitation to game the system by allowing each state to determine proficiency, resulting in the New York state debacle. This compromised the education of hundreds of thousands of students here, denying many of them essential remediation, while facilitating their unearned promotion to the next grade. The concept of “ending” social promotion, central to the Bloomberg educational program, now lies in tatters.
Just as the academic program is emerging as in need of rethinking comes the fiscal bad news. The full effect of the recession, blunted for a while by the infusion of billions in federal stimulus funds, is now upon us. With billions less to spend, we’ve got to achieve the academic gains that we now know weren’t reached when the cash spigot flowed freely. This is a daunting task.
The first step to fixing a problem is admitting that one exists. That is what Mr. Steiner did at the state level with the test scores in July. I suggest that the solution to creating real, not illusive, academic gains will come from better pedagogy, not better management.
Which brings us to Cathie Black. I fear that the mayor still believes his own 2009 press releases and has told Ms. Black that, as far as academics are concerned, all is well with the city’s schools. All she needs to do as chancellor would then be to follow through on the programs the outgoing chancellor, Joel Klein, and his staff have already put in place. But in the harsh light of the revised test scores, what kind of success has Mr. Klein truly accomplished? Achievement has not dramatically increased, while funding has. New educational programs will need to be developed.
There are those who suggest that the mayor, in total control of the schools, have free reign to pick his chancellor. But the mayor, even within the overly-liberal terms of the renewal of his control of the schools in 2009, has control only within state law. That law clearly enumerates certain pedagogical qualifications for district superintendents, and New York City is the largest school district in the state (not to mention the country). Those requirements, not unique to the city, can be waived only for those possessing extraordinary skills.
There have been three waiver requests in my memory. Mr. Klein, in the euphoria of the initial adding of the school system to the mayor’s portfolio, won such a waiver. But he brought extensive government service to the table, at a time when all of the stakeholders, including the teacher’s union, were supportive. His predecessor, Harold Levy, whom the mayor would dismiss as part of the old “dysfunction,” also won a waiver. He had considerable experience as an education advocate in the private sector and had served on the State Board of Regents.
The third application for a waiver, which was denied, was for Robert F. Wagner, Jr., who was — he has since died — the scion of a distinguished New York political family and who was a widely recognized student of public policy. Many at the time were shocked by Wagner’s rejection. Mayor Koch responded by orchestrating Wagner’s election as president of the Board of Education, where he served with distinction.
In Ms. Black’s case, what would be appropriate would be a public hearing at which Ms. Black would be entitled to testify and face questions from a panel of Regents, state and city legislative leaders, and state education department staffers. This would enable Commissioner Steiner, who knows better than anyone the challenges that lie ahead, to make an informed and transparent decision.
It would also enable Ms. Black, a social friend of Mr. Bloomberg, to prove that she is not the education world’s equivalent of Harriet Miers, the ill-fated Bush nominee to the Supreme Court. Or perhaps give her pause, as with Ms. Miers, to withdraw rather than face questions for which she is ill-prepared to answer.
Bucket List #1
My grandfather has always told me, when my brother and I were younger, to live life to the fullest, never be older than you are and to seek out things that make you happy. I have decided that after 482 months of living to ACTUALLY listen. Before "God" takes me, I plan to make a bucket list, so that forever long I live, my wife, my daughters, my grandchildren/great-grandchildren (I hope I can live as long as my grandfather), my friends and students know that I left happy, just as happy as the day my mother and father were when I was born.
Bucket List Item 1---GROW A BEARD, NOT A NECK BEARD OR GOATEE!!!!
So around 13, I discovered that my neck had three magnificient threads of hair. Incredibly excited, I posed in front of my grandparents mirror wondering, "Should I shave it? Should I leave it alone?" My brother Mitchell, unimpressed by my recent foray into puberty snickered and said, "What am I looking at? The three pieces of hair on your neck, look out!!!" (Mind you this is not a Billy Gibbons/Dusty Hill ZZ Top beard) My grandmother walks into the bathroom and sternly says, "What are you doing with the shaving cream on your face?" I explained to my grandmother that I was planning to boldly go where no other Levine grandson (I am the oldest of the four) would go and that was to shave. "Shave that? Adam, you know this shaving is not a one-time thing. The hair will grow thicker and you'll need to shave more. Have grandpa settle it."
My grandfather walks in and naturally whenever Mitchell and I were about to do something ridiculous, my grandfather's comment was, "Betty, I'll handle it." He was two seconds late. Throwing the door open, he says, "You know wherever you shave first, that part of your face will have the thickest beard."
Thus the birth of neck beard. I did get a rainforest under my lip at 15 and by 17 I had the goatee. Had I listened to my grandfather, I would have had grown a beard in college, my twenties or my thirties. Now at 40, I started growing a beard, to my wife's chagrin but decided to buy a ten-dollar beard trimmer from Rite-Aid. I am two weeks in but once full, I plan to take a picture and then shave it off for then I will be confident that the neck beard will be a thing of the past.
Bucket List Item 1---GROW A BEARD, NOT A NECK BEARD OR GOATEE!!!!
So around 13, I discovered that my neck had three magnificient threads of hair. Incredibly excited, I posed in front of my grandparents mirror wondering, "Should I shave it? Should I leave it alone?" My brother Mitchell, unimpressed by my recent foray into puberty snickered and said, "What am I looking at? The three pieces of hair on your neck, look out!!!" (Mind you this is not a Billy Gibbons/Dusty Hill ZZ Top beard) My grandmother walks into the bathroom and sternly says, "What are you doing with the shaving cream on your face?" I explained to my grandmother that I was planning to boldly go where no other Levine grandson (I am the oldest of the four) would go and that was to shave. "Shave that? Adam, you know this shaving is not a one-time thing. The hair will grow thicker and you'll need to shave more. Have grandpa settle it."
My grandfather walks in and naturally whenever Mitchell and I were about to do something ridiculous, my grandfather's comment was, "Betty, I'll handle it." He was two seconds late. Throwing the door open, he says, "You know wherever you shave first, that part of your face will have the thickest beard."
Thus the birth of neck beard. I did get a rainforest under my lip at 15 and by 17 I had the goatee. Had I listened to my grandfather, I would have had grown a beard in college, my twenties or my thirties. Now at 40, I started growing a beard, to my wife's chagrin but decided to buy a ten-dollar beard trimmer from Rite-Aid. I am two weeks in but once full, I plan to take a picture and then shave it off for then I will be confident that the neck beard will be a thing of the past.
Things To Eat on Staten Island Before You Leave or Die
For nearly 30 years, Heartland Bagels on Richmond Avenue has made the best bagels on Shao-Lin.
My mom bought them for my brother and I every Sunday, everyday that I drove to Wagner, I bought them, and now that the girls are around, I buy them. Maybe when they get older, they will blog about these bagels.
I digress, I have a warm, plain one in front of me with cream cheese and lox, so I got to eat it.
Its just like a Sunday morning on Klondike Avenue @ 1980.
My mom bought them for my brother and I every Sunday, everyday that I drove to Wagner, I bought them, and now that the girls are around, I buy them. Maybe when they get older, they will blog about these bagels.
I digress, I have a warm, plain one in front of me with cream cheese and lox, so I got to eat it.
Its just like a Sunday morning on Klondike Avenue @ 1980.
Saturday, November 20, 2010
La Isla de Staten
I love Staten Island, honestly I do, for it is a hot bed of comedic entertainment for anyone with a three digit IQ.
Going out to dinner on Staten Island with my wife and the Lederman's tonight was a spectacle of Staten Island couture,
If you are a woman on Staten Island, do me a solid, STOP WEARING YOUR SUNGLASSES AT NIGHT! You are not Stevie Wonder, you are not Ray Charles, you are not Snookie and YOU ARE NOT COREY HART!
The woman I speak of entered Dominick's restaurant while I was eating and for a span of an hour just kept these gigantic Karl Lagerfeldesque glasses draped across her haggard face. Her company just accepted this as if this woman was setting a trend, she wasn't, so I laughed.
Going out to dinner on Staten Island with my wife and the Lederman's tonight was a spectacle of Staten Island couture,
If you are a woman on Staten Island, do me a solid, STOP WEARING YOUR SUNGLASSES AT NIGHT! You are not Stevie Wonder, you are not Ray Charles, you are not Snookie and YOU ARE NOT COREY HART!
The woman I speak of entered Dominick's restaurant while I was eating and for a span of an hour just kept these gigantic Karl Lagerfeldesque glasses draped across her haggard face. Her company just accepted this as if this woman was setting a trend, she wasn't, so I laughed.
The First Post-November 20,2010
I was planning to use my weebly account for this blog but my friend and former student Nick Lettierre told me that blogspot.com was free, so I present the Rage Against The Levine blog.
Rage Against The Levine was designed as a way for me to rage against the political demagogues who believe that I, as a veteran teacher, should be laid off so that two newbie teachers can replace me. After fifteen years of teaching, I still love what I do, I love my students, I love to evolve as a teacher and I am tired of Mayor Bloomberg, Governor "Little Mario Cuomo" and President Obama bashing the job I love. Being a teacher is my calling and in 2010, teachers are the new lawyers. Until then, I will rage until they take the smartboard, the computer and me out of the classroom for a cheap, inexperienced newbie.
Get to retirement or die trying. Enjoy.
Rage Against The Levine was designed as a way for me to rage against the political demagogues who believe that I, as a veteran teacher, should be laid off so that two newbie teachers can replace me. After fifteen years of teaching, I still love what I do, I love my students, I love to evolve as a teacher and I am tired of Mayor Bloomberg, Governor "Little Mario Cuomo" and President Obama bashing the job I love. Being a teacher is my calling and in 2010, teachers are the new lawyers. Until then, I will rage until they take the smartboard, the computer and me out of the classroom for a cheap, inexperienced newbie.
Get to retirement or die trying. Enjoy.
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