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PULS Cardiac Test Performance Data Measuring Endothelial Injury to Predict Acute Coronary Syndrome to be presented at 2017 American Heart Association Scientific Sessions

Leading cardiologist, Dr. Americo Simonini, will demonstrate how immune response biomarkers predict ACS and improve patient care

May 4th 2017, Minneapolis, MN - Dr. Americo Simonini, Cardiologist at Cedars Sinai and fellow of the American College of Cardiology, will conduct a scientific presentation on immune response biomarkers that effectively measure the continuous process of endothelial injury to predict ACS, or unstable cardiac lesion rupture at the 2017 AHA ATVB|PVD Scientific Sessions.

The abstract analyzes data collected from a range of cardiology practices across the United States, comparing the patients initial risk status as determined by a modified Framingham Risk Score (mFRS), to a cardiac score provided by the PULS Cardiac Test, referred to as a CADPA (Coronary Artery Disease Predictive Algorithm). Conclusions from the abstract suggest that this methodology marks a significant improvement over current methods in identifying subclinical coronary artery disease.

“We see this data as foundational blocks that help physicians redefine the standard of care,” commented Dr. Simonini. “Our goal is to improve identification of asymptomatic ‘vulnerable patients’ at risk of experiencing a cardiac event, but who may be missed by current methods. The data on the PULS Cardiac Test shows significant re-classification across all ages and races, representing an exciting step on the path to more effective, affordable prevention on a global level.”

The presentation follows the recent case study published by the American College of Cardiology online that highlights the clinical utility of the PULS Cardiac Test in detecting subclinical coronary artery disease in a 46 year-old male, later confirmed by CCTA.

Dr. Simonini co-authored the presentation with Dr. Douglas Harrington, Clinical Professor at USC Keck School of Medicine and Co-Founder of the PULS Cardiac Test. The presentation entitled “Novel biomarker algorithmic panel measuring permutations of immune response to cardiac endothelial injury and global risk factors identifies patients at risk of acute coronary syndrome (ACS)” will take place on Thursday, May 4th, 2017 from 5:00-8:00pm.

The annual meeting ATVB|PVD 2017 Scientific Sessions includes diverse disciplines within the arteriosclerosis, thrombosis, vascular biology, peripheral vascular disease, vascular surgery, and functional genomics research communities that allow investigators to explore areas of cross-disciplinary interests.

For more information, visit www.pulstest.com or contact (866) 299-8998. To receive a copy of the presentation, email info@pulstest.com.

About the PULS Cardiac Test

The PULS Cardiac Test, developed by GD Biosciences, is a simple blood test that identifies individuals with active, yet undetected subclinical Coronary Heart Disease (CHD), who are at risk of experiencing a Heart Attack, and for whom early intervention can help. The test measures protein biomarkers of the body’s immune response to continuous endothelial injury leading to the formation and progression unstable cardiac lesions – the #1 cause of Heart Attacks. The PULS Cardiac Test has been highlighted by leading cardiology institutions, is now available in over 7 countries worldwide, and recently received the 1st Place Award for Innovation in Healthcare.


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All Corporations Aren’t Created Equal

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.” What about corporations? Apparently, some corporations are more equal than others, or perhaps some are “people” whereas others aren’t. It depends on how an individual corporation’s political twig is bent.

A federal judge recently issued an injunction against a Texas law that barred public funding of clinics that perform abortions. Planned Parenthood is a chief plaintiff in the case, which only makes sense. According to Planned Parenthood’s figures, the federation performed 329,445 abortions in 2010, an increase of 25,135 over 2007 and an average of 902 per day. In all, 56-percent of the unintended pregnancies the organization claims to have prevented in 2010 ended on the abortion table. Planned Parenthood clinics, it would certainly seem, run afoul of the Texas law’s funding restrictions.

However, abortion isn’t the issue for this column. The eight clinics involved in the lawsuit do not perform abortions, at least not on site. The issue is Planned Parenthood’s legal argument against the Texas law. The organization alleges that its free speech has been abridged, and there can be no more perfect example of modern liberalism. Isn’t it the left that decries corporate free speech and personhood?

You might recall the Supreme Court ruling in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission. When the Court ruled that corporations are legally protected under the First Amendment’s free speech provision the left cut flips. It represented a gross violation of justice to define corporations as “people” capable of exercising free political speech, or free speech in general. Where is that anger now? The left isn’t criticizing Planned Parenthood for asserting its corporate citizenship and free speech rights.

What is Planned Parenthood if not a corporation? Search Planned Parenthood’s websites; you’ll find the federation repeatedly identified as “incorporated.” Articles of incorporation for Planned Parenthood regional affiliates are available online. There’s no questioning Planned Parenthood’s incorporated status, just as there’s no questioning its liberal political alignment. Yet we’re to believe liberals can’t abide the thought of corporations exercising free speech. As is common to liberalism, we have a contradiction.

If this were an isolated incident we might let it slide. But Planned Parenthood isn’t alone. Colleges and universities, among the most liberal of all institutions, incorporate for various purposes. Stanford University formed a corporation to manage its on-campus faculty housing. Harvard University operates a financial investment corporation that manages funds to satisfy research and educational necessities. Bill Gates, Warren Buffett, and George Soros are all party to numerous corporations. Not one of those people or institutions can be called conservative.

Apparently, liberals don’t view all corporations as created equal. Some corporations are capable of exercising free speech, determining their own expenditures, and behaving in an approved way. But acceptable corporate personhood is based not on equal protection but ideological alignment. Now we’re left with one lingering question: do liberals suffer from “corporaphobia,” or are they just being two-faced?

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Rohit Shetty will keep his date with Diwali

Rohit Shetty will keep his date with Diwali
Ajay Devgn with the film’s team during the Hyderabad schedule; Rajini and his 2.0 gang
After months of speculations, producer of the fourth instalment of his comedy franchise confirms that the film will release during the festival along with Rajinikanth's much-hyped sequel

Rohit Shetty and Ajay Devgn had earlier announced that the fourth instalment of their successful comic series, Golmaal Again, would be a Diwali 2017 release. However, of late speculations have been rife that the makers had decided to push the release ahead to 2018 because they did not want to set up a box-office clash with S Shankar's Rajinikanthstarrer 2.0, a sequel to his 2010 Tamil hit Enthiran, which Akshay Kumar, who plays the antagonist, had announced as a Diwali 2017 release with two tweets on November 20, 2016. Even as rumour mills went into overdrive, Rohit was inundated with messages from distributors and exhibitors enquiring if Golmaal Again would be keeping its date with the festival of lights again. Mirror has now learnt that it will be.

Confirming the news, Shibasish Sarkar, Chief Operating Officer of Reliance Entertainment, which is jointly producing the film with Rohit, says, "Golmaal Again, one of the most successful franchises of the Indian film industry, has created huge curiosity and demand among the exhibitors and distributors of the country. On their demand, we decided on a wide-scale release in the Diwali weekend of 2017, the festival period being apt for families and children."

While the first Golmaal had opened on July 14, 2006, the two others, which followed, Golmaal Returns and Golmaal 3, were both Diwali dhamakas. Part 4 that features usual suspects Ajay, Arshad Warsi, Tusshar Kapoor, Shreyas Talpade and Kunal Kemmu and new faces Parineeti Chopra, Tabu and Neil Nitin Mukesh, recently wrapped up its Mumbai schedule and Rohit is presently shooting in Hyderabad.

"After this month-long schedule they will take a break, followed by another schedule in Ooty towards the end of May or early June," says a source close to the development.

Reportedly, Aamir Khan's Secret Superstar, featuring Zaira Wasim, will also release this Diwali.

Diwali clashes

Kuch Kuch Hota Hai vs Bade Miyan Chote Miyan (1998)
Karan Johar's directorial debut faced off with David Dhawan's Amitabh Bachchan-Govinda starrer on October 16

Mission Kashmir vs Mohabbatein (2000)
Hrithik Roshan's follow-up to his debut success coincided with the release of Aditya Chopra's follow-up to DDLJ on October 27

Aitraaz vs Veer Zara vs Mughal-EAzam (2004)
The digitally-restored version of the K Asif classic locked horns with Shah Rukh Khan's cross-border love story and Priyanka Chopra's baddie act in November 2004

Garam Masala vs Shaadi No. 1 vs Kyon ki (2005)
Priyadarshan's Akshay, John Abrahamstarrer was pitted against his other directorial, the Salman-Kareena love story Kyon Ki... on November 2, while another David Dhawan multistarrer comedy jumped into the fray the next day

Don vs Jaan-E-Mann (2006)
On October 20, Farhan Akhtar's rehash of the 1978 classic eclipsed editor-turned-filmmaker Shirish Kunder's directorial debut that featured Akshay and Salman.

Om Shanti Om vs Saawariya (2007)
Ranbir Kapoor and Sonam Kapoor's debut party at the BO on November 2 was crashed by Farah Khan's directorial debut a week later.

Golmaal Returns vs Fashion ( 2008)
This one was a win-win Diwali as the second Golmaal film laughed its way to the bank while Fashion to the National Awards. Both released on October 29.

All The Best vs Blue vs Main Aur Mrs Khanna (2009)
Rohit Shetty's multistarrer comedy opened on October 16 alongside Anthony D'Souza's adventure-actioner and Salman-Kareena's screen reunion and came first in the BO race.

Golmaal 3 vs Action Replayy ( 2010)
The third Golmaal film met the ill-fated Akshay, Aishwarya Rai-starrer on November 5.

Jab Tak Hai Jaan vs Son Of Sardaar ( 2012)
Yash Chopra's swan song released on November 12, followed by Ajay Devgn's sardar act a day later.

Ae Dil Hai Mushkil vs Shivaay (2016)
Karan Johar's love story took on Ajay Devgn's second directorial in this box-office battle on October 28.
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Feeding a Puppy

If you want a healthy, happy puppy then you should learn about feeding a puppy properly. Puppies need food that is specially formulated with nutrients their growing bodies need. It is best to establish a feeding schedule with your puppy for a number of reasons. Above all else, it is important to remember that water is essential to growing puppies.

How you feed your puppy is not nearly as important as what you feed your puppy. Once a new puppy is weaned from his mother, you are responsible for giving your puppy food that will help him grow and stay healthy. It is recommended that you start off using the same brand your puppy was fed before you brought him home. If you choose to change brands, you should introduce the new brand slowly, over the course of 7-10 days. While there are three types of dog food available, dry kibble, semi-moist, and moist, most experts believe you should only feed your puppy dry kibble. More expensive foods generally contain higher-quality ingredients while cheaper foods contain poor-quality ingredients. Some brands also offer puppy chow that is formulated specifically for large-breed puppies.

Your puppy will benefit most by feeding a puppy on a schedule. Puppies who are allowed to eat as much as they want by having food available all the time are less likely to maintain their optimal weight as adult dogs. Puppies should be fed three times a day, but as adults, they should be fed twice a day. It will be easier to housebreak your puppy by knowing exactly when he eats. To know how much you should feed your puppy, consult the chart on the back of the bag. Your puppy may eat more or less, so use the chart only as a guide.

 Puppies need water and lots of it. Because water is so important to the health, growth, and development of a puppy, ensuring that your puppy has clean, fresh water is the most important part of feeding a puppy. Growing puppies need more water, pound for pound, than adult dogs because of their rapid growth and development.

Properly feeding your new puppy is the best way to give him a healthy, happy start. You should feed your puppy a high-quality food that is specially designed for growing puppies. Establishing a feeding schedule and being consistent with that schedule will help with housebreaking. It will also help develop healthy eating habits as an adult dog. While food quality is important, the most crucial aspect of your puppy’s health and development is ensuring your puppy receives adequate water.

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Tuesday, December 29, 2009

Roasted cauliflower pasta

When I saw this recipe the other day, I knew it would be mine. Oh yes. It would be mine.

I also knew I'd make some changes. For a batch of food that would be an easy weeknight dinner plus some lunches to bring to work, I didn't feel like bothering with the proscuitto. I roasted the vegetables at least twice as long as they suggested. The idea of sage and arugula together didn't please my mental palate, so I left the sage out. And I doubled most of the amounts (including the pasta, which I should have left alone), but I used less than the original amount of cheese and it's still plenty delicious.

As less of a recipe and more of a formula for meals going forward, it's a good one. Roasting a combination of tomatoes and other vegetables and then using the olive oil and released juices as a sauce is kind of brilliant. And I loved the idea of throwing chopped garlic in for the last ten minutes or so instead of bothering to saute it.

When I got home from the gym, I quickly prepped some cauliflower (about half a head, but I'd do a full head in the future) and two pints of grape tomatoes with olive oil to coat and some salt. I threw that in a 425 oven while I showered and stirred it around occasionally while I was cooking the rest. It was probably in for 45 minutes or so, all told.
Hello, gorgeous.

In the meantime, I put a big pot of water on to boil for the pasta and half-assedly julienned a bag of arugula. I think it was julienned — where you grab a handful of leaves and sort of roll them up and slice the roll thinly? That's what I did, only half-assedly.
I chopped up four cloves of garlic — I did a pretty half-assed job of that too, come to think of it — and threw that in the roasting pan when the pasta went into the water. I used a full pound of pasta, but would definitely halve it next time. I like a much higher vegetable:pasta ratio than I got here. FOR HEALTH.* When the pasta was done and drained, reserving some of the water, and back in the pot, I took the vegetables out of the oven, added them and scraped all the oil and browned bits out too. I threw the arugula in by handfuls, stirring around to wilt it before adding more, and then added maybe 2/3 c. of grated parmesan and about a cup of pasta water.

Oooooh, steamy....

*On a recent flight, one of the flight attendants had a sort of annoying verbal tic of saying FOR SAFETY after everything she said: "Sir, you need to buckle your seat belt. FOR SAFETY." "I need you to put your pants back on. FOR SAFETY." And so on. I wouldn't say I've adopted it, but it bubbles up once in a while.

[originally posted on my old food blog 5.8.2009]

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Sunday, September 03, 2006

We Zigged, When We Should Have Zagged ... The Results - The Garlic's Weekly Poll August 27 - September 2 2006

We Zigged, When We Should Have Zagged

Boy, did we get our poll question wrong this past week ... Thinking, with the first anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, there’d be a bevy of conversation, editorials, unending cable news programs, with parades of talking heads offering a complete and thorough second look at President Bush, and his administrations’, failed response (then and now) to the Gulf Region and New Orleans.

But (drum roll, please) ... Enter Donald Rumsfeld ...

Nothing like tossing a few manhole covers around, putting a new spin on a different failed policy, and, in the process, labeling (not just Michael Moore, Cindy Sheehan or those darn Democrats in Congress) a majority of Americans “Nazi Appeasers”

Clearly, The Garlic underestimated (insert “Head Slap” here) just how outrageous the White House could get ...

The Results - The Garlic's Weekly Poll August 27 - September 2 2006

With the first-year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina this week, the most outrageous act the White House is likely to undertake is ...

1. Releasing talking points that the vote for Ned Lamont was giving the “shorter-levee-types” exactly what they wanted ... Tally - 38%

2. Issuing a “President’s Cut” DVD - An exact copy of the news footage that Andy Card put together showing New Orleans flooded, so President Bush could understand the disaster that the rest of the country had already seen for days ... Tally - 30%

3. A contest to co-host, with President Bush, another speech from Jackson Square ... Tally - 25%

4. With Hurricane Ernesto heading towards the U.S., announce yet another terror alert that, regrettably, prevents the President from attending any events in the Gulf area, having to stay back in the White House, fighting the Islamo-Fascists ... Tally - 8%

This week’s Poll - If President Bush is reading Shakespeare, what’s Rumsfeld reading?...

Scroll up to the top right corner to place your vote

Cost of rigging, err, winning 2000 Presidential election that gave you your job ... $530-Million ... Cost of invading and occupying a sovereign country ... $300-Trillion ... Shaking hands with a ruthless dictator ... Priceless

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Watch Deceived Online Free Putlocker

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Watch Deceived Online – Free Streaming 1991 Full Movie HD on Putlocker. A marriage that seemed perfect comes crashing down after the death of Jack Saunders, husband of Adrienne Saunders. Strange developments begin to be discovered by Adrienne regarding Jack’s past, developments that lead her to believe she has been deceived.

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Free online training for EEC hours

For those of you who may not be aware, below is a link to free online training from EEC and UMASS Boston.  The trainings are broken down in modules and needs to be documented using the EEC form. Please share with staff and let me know if you have any questions.

Lara Paniagua

Licensing Specialist

Department of Early Education and Care

1441 Main Street, Suite 230

Springfield, MA 01103

Direct Line 413-881-1540

Main Line 413-788-8401

Fax 413-784-1227

Free Competency Based Training Online!

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·       LinkedIn

The Department of Early Education and Care (EEC) and the University of Massachusetts, Boston are excited to announce  that online courses are now available on Open Course Ware. All courses can be accessed at  http://ocw.umb.edu/ .  There is no charge to access these courses.   Please note: Educators who are seeking college credit or CEUs should contact their regional Educator and Provider Support Grantee for enrollment information. Educators must pay applicable tuition and/or fees for college credit or CEUs.

All courses are comprised of self-contained modules that can be used individually or strung together to make up a course.  Modules can be used by educators for self-study or by programs to meet the in-service professional development requirements.

Courses available online are:

·       EEC’s Core Competencies-8 modules

·       EEC Competencias Basicas-8 modules

·       Preschool Learning Standards and Guidelines-7 modules

·       Estado de Massachusetts Experiencias de Aprendizaje en Preescolar-7 modules

·       Infant and Toddler Guidelines-6 modules

·       EEC Language and Literacy- 13 modules

Self Study Guide for Using the Online Modules PDF

for Preschool Learning Standards and Guidelines.

Procedure to Obtain EEC Professional Development Hours for Self-Study Courses pdf format of EEC Professional Development Hours for Self Study

Core Competencies is a survey course to familiarize educators with the competencies and to help them identify where they need more professional development. This course is designed to provide early childhood education professionals with the knowledge and skills to assess their own level of competency in terms of the eight core areas, across the infant-toddler, preschool and out-of-school age range.

Preschool Guidelines is designed to provide early childhood education professionals with the knowledge and skills to teach each content area according to the preschool learning guidelines, or state standards. Through presentations, online resources, readings, and assignments students will gain knowledge of the components of mathematics, English language arts, science and technology/engineering, the arts, and health education, and history and social science.

Language and Literacy Course is designed to examine language development from birth through primary-aged children. Topics will include speech and language processes for communication, language development stages, theories of language acquisition, assessment of language development and activities that foster language development. Special attention will be paid to linguistically diverse populations and children whose language development differs from the reference group, with regards to the most recent advances in the field. Selection and development of pre-reading/prewriting and reading and writing curricula for preschool, kindergarten and primary grades will be addressed. There will be an emphasis on development of literacy in the primary grades that employs a Universal Design for Learning (UDL) approach.

Infant and Toddler Guidelines Course is designed to provide a comprehensive view of the development of infants and toddlers while documenting experiences that support this development. This course will provide an opportunity to use the Massachusetts Early Learning Guidelines to support your work with infants and toddlers.

Pioneer Valley Montessori School, 1524 Parker Street, Springfield, MA 01129 • 413-782-3108

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19 February 2013

Give polls a chance. Or STFU.

We all know there's a problem with political polls. Every time a new poll is published, we have 24 hours of headlines, questions shouted at politicians at every doorstop, denials, pundits attributing causes to every "dip" or "surge" and the polls themselves dismissed as meaningless or "dodgy". But the fault isn't usually with the poll. Here are just a few reasons why:

  1. Political polls are conducted transparently and with robust, documented, methodology. Poll methodology is typically provided (if the media organisations or critics care to ask for it) along with the findings. Indeed, it's in the interests of market research companies to provide details of their methodology in order to support the credibility of their findings. It's just that the media and others aren't usually that interested. Of course there are technical flaws and merits in every approach - pollsters and psephologists may argue at length among themselves about methods and significance, but you'll rarely see those arguments played out in the mainstream media. Margins of error are also provided; but they too attract scant attention while tiny changes in voting percentage are discussed ad nauseam.
  2. Stated intention today is not a reliable predictor of future behaviour. This is very well documented in the academic marketing literature - all sorts of factors have been shown to have the potential to cause the consumer not to follow through with his or her intention. A poll that asks "If a Federal election were held today..." sets up an artificial situation, making it even less likely to be a good predictor of the future. Even with the best design - and the best will - the findings of such a poll can only be used as a very rough guide to what might happen in the (impossible) event of an election being held today.
  3. Local factors may significantly alter intentions. Voting involves a complex process - it's very different from answering a phone call or completing a survey online. For example, a significant proportion of those who provide opinion poll answers probably have no clear understanding of who their local candidates are, or will be, at a future Federal election. What if I told the pollsters that I intended to vote Liberal but when I eventually see the picture of the Liberal candidate on the How to Vote card, I don't like the look of him or her? Or I was intending to vote Labor but I recognise the Greens candidate as a former local Councillor who did some good things for the community? These may be small effects, but when countless column inches are devoted to differences of 1 or 2 per cent, they may well be very relevant.
  4. Correlation does not equal causation. A movement in poll numbers - even a change that falls within the margin or error and thus can't even be thought of as a "real" change - invariably provokes a flood of analysis seeking to explain its cause. No change in voting intention should ever be attributed to any specific piece of political business - an announcement, a scandal, a photo op or a fuck-up - based on a piece of descriptive research like an opinion poll. Only a properly-controlled piece of causal research, where the impact of one particular factor can be investigated while others are controlled for, can provide strong evidence of causation; for example, was voting intention statistically significantly different among those who had seen a particular speech or interview, as compared with those who hadn't? Even then, there might well be confounders - people who saw the speech might be better informed about politics than those who didn't and this might be related to their long-term voting intentions.
My point is, when polls are discussed, dissected and ultimately despised, don't dismiss the research as "dodgy" unless you've examined and understood the methodology. To put it bluntly, don't blame the polls or the pollsters - blame the pollies and the press.


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I have to confess that I'm preprogrammed to love the television show Glee. First of all, every time I see the name I think it's talking to me, since the name consists of my first initial and last name, which was my login at a previous job. Secondly my son is in vocal ensemble and has been in chorus for nine years so watching the show is both familiar and fun. Glee follows the trials and tribulations of New Directions, an underappreciated glee club in Ohio that is treated poorly by the rest of the school; students and faculty alike. The glee club kids are harassed both physically and mentally and the club itself gets no funding, as though the school is hoping the club will wither up and die on the vine so to speak.

Enter Matthew Morrison as Will Schuester, (or Mister Shoe) McKinley High's Spanish teacher, who has an unhappy marriage and wants to relive his glory days in glee by taking charge of New Directions and turning it into a powerhouse. Opposing him is the dynamic Sue Sylvester, played perfectly by Jane Lynch, the coach of the school's very popular and competitive cheerleading squad called the Cheerios. Sue has managed to get all of the funding for New Directions diverted to her girls and will do anything to keep the status quo. She's vicious, passionate, opinionated and must sharpen her tongue every night after she flosses and brushes. She's also one of my favorite characters on the show; always interesting and energetic.

McKinley High School has a special way of treading on its underdogs. Bullies don’t give the other students swirlies (or at least not onscreen) but they do throw slushies in their faces. Rachel Berry, portrayed by Lea Michele, has the best voice in the school and is one of the least popular students, garnering her a slushy a day. Rachel is driven, abrasive and in love with Finn Hudson, played by Cory Monteith, who is on the football team, but also interested in glee club. Finn is a nice boy, a bit dim, but means well and is dating Quinn Fabray, blonde cheerleader and member of the celibacy club.

Quinn has two secrets, which we learn pretty early in the series. One she's pregnant and two the father of the baby is Puck (Mark Salling), Finn's best friend and fellow footballer. (He also has a thing for moms, although this isn't explored much past the first couple of episodes.) The love triangle between Puck, Quinn and Finn isn’t the only one in the show; there are a couple of others, if you don't mind loose definitions of love triangles. Jayma Mays plays Emma Pillsbury, the neurotic school guidance counselor who has a huge crush on Will. In his turn Will enjoys spending time with Emma but worries about crossing a line as he is married to Terri (played by Jessalyn Gilsig), the most unsympathetic character in the show. Terri is demanding, manipulative and a liar but worse of all she's a killjoy. (No wonder Will finds spending platonic time with the adoring Emma a peaceful oasis in his chaotic life.) We could forgive her for being obnoxious or a bit of a monster, after all some of our favorite characters over the years have been people we wouldn't want hanging out at our house, but Terri's character is like a drill; shrill and monotonous. No thanks.

Rachel isn’t the only one head over heels with Finn; Kurt Hummel, played to a T by Chris Colfer, is also mad for Finn and even goes so far as to spend time trying to convince Finn that girls are nothing but trouble, hoping, I assume, that Finn will give up on girls and decide to give boys a try. Kurt is one of my favorite characters. He's charming, even when he's being snide, amusing and a fashion plate. He definitely dresses better than I do and he's braver as he was courageous enough to get a spot on the football team, despite strong opposition, whereas I would be terrified at the idea of setting foot on a football field. There are a variety of other characters we see on a weekly basis, as well as some guest stars that really are stars, including Eve as the coach of a rival glee club, that add to the fun and flair of Glee.

The show is frequently silly and over the top, but I like silly and so far it hasn't been too over the top for me. If you think of the show as a very extended musical comedy you'll kind of know what to expect; loads of musical numbers, some dancing, romance, heartbreak, conniving – all of the things that make for an hour of terrific entertainment. I've been interested to see how many different kinds of people love Glee. It's always the talk of my youngest son's vocal ensemble class, which is to be expected, but I also see it greeted with great enthusiasm by science fiction fans, YA authors, agents, horse lovers, zombie fans and just about everyone else on my Twitter feed. The fall season finale aired last week but the thirteen episode DVD is already being released and you can watch full episodes on Fox on Demand.

One-Paragraph Review

This week's one-paragraph review is from sad and confused who writes in to say, "HATED Alice on syfy. Bad acting plus a terrible script equals TORTURE." Do you have a one-paragraph (or smaller) review you'd like to share? Send it in to me for consideration. You can reach me at


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The Last One and Pokemon Go

The Last One

Imagine that you are a contestant on a hot new reality show, which takes place in the wilderness. You think it's called In the Woods, but the show is actually called In the Dark, because the producers have lied to you and the other contestants. (You had to sign a 96 page release form before filming began.) And then a couple of weeks into filming, while you are off on a solo task, making your way through the woods, an extremely virulent pathogen attacks, killing most of the people around you. But you think it's all part of the show and instead of being afraid or mourning the loss of your loved ones, you just get more and more angry at the sheer callousness of the show creators. How dare they make so many fake bodies and leave them in such horrific circumstances? The more angry you get the more determined you are to not quit, no matter what.

That is the premise of Alexandria Olivia's astonishing, brilliant, debut novel The Last One, which I have to confess I stayed up until 5:58 a.m. reading. I had to finish it before I went to sleep. Told non-linearly from two perspectives, that of a woman who is alternately called Zoo, Mae, and Sam, and that of the show's creators, it's a frightening and tense read.

I was pretty excited when I saw that I was eligible to get an advance review copy of the novel because I thought it looked intriguing and I was not disappointed. Anyone who is interested in how reality shows work behind the scenes should find this novel of interest, even if they aren’t interested in it as an adventure story. I imagine they would still get swept away by the story. It's hard to imagine this book leaving anyone cold or unaffected.

It's heartbreaking, which it should be. We readers would be kind of awful people if we didn't feel sad over a ton of people dying from a stupid illness. Of course one of the contestants is a rotten son of a barnacle, so maybe we can be forgiven if we don't cry if he or she should keel over after a few days of being miserably ill.

I had a couple of problems with the book, but nothing I couldn’t handle. There are some important plot points that seemed a little too contrived or perhaps improbable. We want everything to fit together and all the loose ends to be tied up, but sometimes it's a little too perfect.

I predict that The Last One will be a big seller, so you should get it now. (It just came out on the 12th.) That way you can tell everyone that you read it before they did. You don't want to pass up a chance to be smug, do you?

You can read an excerpt here:

(Purchasing anything via these links will net us a commission from Amazon, which helps keep the site up and running.)

Pokemon Go
The Pokemon Go app is so popular that Nintendo's stock has soared and the app is generating a million dollars in revenue per day. That's even more than Candy Crush was making at its peak. Everyone seems to be playing it, except for a grouchy few who are quite vocal about how awful it is. So far I haven't encountered a naysayer who has actually played it, so take these people with a giant grain of salt.

I am enjoying all the positivity around the game. I've heard from dozens of people who are going for long walks, some going three or five miles, and chatting with strangers they encounter who are also playing. It's mildly amusing to me that the same kinds of people who complain about the death of society because we don't interact face to face, and the fattening of society because we don't exercise enough, are the ones also complaining about what a drag the game is.

If you are happily playing pay attention to your local community. I've heard from libraries that are creating special events as well as retailers who are sponsoring sales and refreshments for those who come and play in their stores.

Bonus Treat:
This week's bonus treat is an insane little story from Eugen Sandow's book Strength and How to Attain It. (He was one of the first performing strongmen.) It's about the time someone set up a fight for him in San Francisco. But he had no ordinary opponent. He fought a lion!


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Wednesday, February 20, 2008

String Theory Demystified Sample Chapter

Here is a sample chapter from String Theory Demsytified. It introduces some aspects of superstring theory. Admittedly it will be chapter 7 in the book, so you would need to read the first 6 chapters to really understand whats going on.

The book will be available soon on Click here for more info:

1 comment:

kariola said...

I really need "string theory demystified" as fast as possible.When will i be released in the Uk? Is thre a possibility to be released earlier as an e-book?


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Parents  »  E Safety

Our Curriculum Vision Statement begins with the words
‘The children who come to Quarry Mount Primary School are diverse, confident and energetic. The world into which they will live and grow is changing rapidly and is driven by technology.’
As technology and the Internet play such a central part in our children’s present and future lives we place great importance on teaching the children how to use them safely. All Internet use is closely monitored and classes complete regular ‘E-safety’ activities to remind the children how to keep safe online. The E-Safety Policy provides more detail about how we do this and is available for you to download below.
We know that parents and carers will also be very concerned that their children are protected and safe when using the Internet at home as well as at school.  Below are some tips on how to initiate conversations around the subject of E-Safety and some useful links that will direct you to further information from external organisations.

For further help or advice, please contact the school's E-Safety Coordinator, Mrs Helen Smith, via the school office.
Useful web links
*NEW* Advice on where to report unsuitable content
Advice including an 'Online teen speak dictionary' and 'Staying Safe on Minecraft'
How to set up parental controls
Vodafone Digital Parenting (includes checklists by age)
CEOP's Think U Know for Parents and Carers
Childline (the free and confidential helpline for children)
Independent not-for-profit organisation which offers age appropriate advice
9 top tips for keeping under 13s safe online
Dates for your diary

E Safety tip of the month – May 2017

We have been made aware of some incidents involving an online game called Blue Whale and several other apps, including Yellow, Lovoo and Woozworld, which encourage children to join in with online dating, chatting and flirting.

The risks with these apps include: children being able to chat privately to strangers as well as allowing other users to view pictures and details without the children being aware. They may also encourage children to self harm.

We would advise all parents to: talk to your child about what apps and games they are using; to make sure that your child is only using age appropriate apps and games online; and to make sure that your child knows what to do if they see anything that makes them uncomfortable.

The UK Safer Internet Centre has some conversation starters that can help you to start a discussion with your child about their time online –

E Safety incident in Leeds, Jan 2017

You may have seen the reports in the media last week about an e-safety incident involving primary age children from Leeds. The incident did not take place in school or through an ‘app’ approved by a school. The incident is now being investigated by West Yorkshire Police.

This incident has highlighted a number of safeguarding issues about smartphone ‘apps’ including and These apps are supposed to only be able to access contacts on the user’s phone, but it appears that unknown individuals are able to join group chats. Therefore, these apps are not safe for children to use as there is a significant risk of inappropriate contact by unknown individuals.

We would ask all parents to make sure that your child does not have access to such apps on their phone and to check that all privacy settings are switched on to make sure that children are protected when using any internet site.

If a child experiences or expresses concerns about online activity, it must be reported to the police using 101 and


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Thursday, May 31, 2012

Pawning My Heart

My eyes actually teared up as I wrote the title because I do feel like MacKenzie is my heart. From the first moment she arrived in an Apple Macbook Pro box encased within a disarming griddle box, I have loved her unconditionally. Her sleek aluminum casing, cool and smooth to the touch, caused exuberance to bubble up and overflow from the place where my heart's supposed to be. She's brought me so much joy and hope for a future of my imaginings.

So it hurts me to do this, to even contemplate doing this. Fat tears spill over feeble eyelashes as I type this entry. I miss her already and she waits in my lap, unable to do anything but glare at me as my fingers dance across her keyboard.

I'm so sorry, baby, but paying for medical insurance for my biological children is a necessity. I pray I'll be able to take you out in two weeks. God, this hurts.

P.S. In case you haven't figured it out, that means I'll be missing for a couple of weeks-- unless I pen something from my work computer. Sigh.

Wednesday, May 30, 2012

Counting My Blessings

What a day! What a busy, busy day.

After school, I visited with my youngest son and we played a very competitive and rousing game of Scrabble, Jr. I kid you not; that game is fun.

Then I headed back to work because tonight was the awards ceremony and I had the pleasure of delivering nearly all of the high school awards for Language Arts. I teach student in 9-11th grade and I took great relish in surprising the girl in each grade with my choice. Of course, I didn't have a speech planned; that would mean that I was prepared (I shudder at the thought). No, I spoke strictly off the top of my head and the words tumbled forth beautifully because they were spoken with sincerity. Those girls have a way of burrowing beneath the skin and laying siege on the place where my heart's supposed to be.

But one of my best and biggest surprises came when I arrived home. As an early birthday present to me, my oldest. spotlessly, cleaned the living room, the dining room, the kitchen, and the kids' bathroom. Plus, he swept the floors. When I swung that door opened and was not greeted with the sight of my youngest's belongings strewn about all over the place, I nearly cried. Now, I understand why my mom bitched so much about cleaning. Coming home to something as simple as an uncluttered home does wonders for the stress level (still fighting hives so I took another Benadryl).

I quite hope that this turn of events foreshadows many more positive things to come. Lord knows I can definitely use a good dose of positivity right about now.

I was going to attempt to get in a bit more writing on Paige's story but off to bed I go. From the day I've had, I'm beat.

Writing a Lil Somethin', Somethin'

Yesterday, I pitched two blog articles to Huffington Post via email.

Last night, I got up out of bed and wrote a little intro to a story; it's not much just yet but it's something. Maybe it's to Paige's story, maybe not. That Jesse character is new, someone I hadn't even thought of until I began writing ( I keep seeing the kid (Macaulay Culkin) from My Girl when I envision him).

I still want Paige to meet Hannah, a precocious little girl with a love of pink, tutus, and lip gloss. I'm thinking Paige will meet her while hanging out at the library in El Segundo, CA. Yes, an idea, planted when I got lost in El Segundo with my best friend and we had to find our way back to Los Angeles during my/our (first) visit to Los Angeles for her birthday a couple years ago, is finally worming its way out of my head and into realization.

Like I said, I haven't got much but it's a start. Anyhoo, gotta run.

Tuesday, May 29, 2012

Staring at My Present

I spent the weekend reading about women who have changed their lives with an invention when their chips were down. One lady made millions by creating house pins for the homeless shelters. Another lady came up with a purse clip for keys. Another woman created a cupcake business. While these stories are inspiring and fill me with hope, there's just one problem.

I'm not crafty.

I'm not a chef.

I'm not a salesperson; I don't just not take no for an answer, I don't ask the question.

All I know how to do is what I'm doing now: write.

So I write; I started this blog for the purpose of writing more. But I still have a long way to go. I'm forever fighting procrastination and losing, forever starting and not finishing, forever thinking and not doing. That's got to change.

If all I've got are my words and my imagination, then I've got to change. I've got to be more proactive, pull the thoughts out of my mind and put them on paper. What good is having two finished screenplays, three started novels, and an idea for a five-book children's series if I'm not going to take the time to write, revise, rewrite, and repeat?

We, as human beings, are supposed to fully immerse ourselves into living in the present. I've taken stock of my life and realized I'm not living; I'm not loving; hell, I've even stopped learning. I can't be paralyzed by fear of the future, of leaping without being certain of a net to catch me if/when I fall, of putting all of myself out there in the world to be criticized and judged and, maybe, deemed worthy. Why is it so hard to do anything of those things? HOW do I do those things? HOW do I allow myself to be vulnerable, open, naked to the world?

At this moment in time, looking at my life the way it is now, I know that, if I want a change, I've got to change. If I want something different, I've got to be different.

Boy, isn't that easier said than done?

Stressin' & Hivin'

The hives are starting. For the past week, I've managed to keep them at bay with Benadryl, high blood pressure pills, and sleep. But there comes a time when medicine and sleep are not enough.

I'm stressed. Super duper stressed. And my skin's fighting to show it.

As I sat here, perusing news site after news site, futilely trying to secure a small area of quiet for myself, I scratched my wrist absentmindedly. Just now, I stopped scratching and looked down at the inflamed area; the hives are back and they're spreading.

This happened to me three years ago when I completed my first year at my current school. The hives came at this time too, just two days after the school year ended and days before I left on my birthday trip to New York. Now, I'm staring at my 33rd birthday in the face (this Saturday), fighting to keep the stress hormones at bay but I can't find any rest, any peace.

My son is different. With no other recourse, I let my son go to a school that changed him for the worst. Well, if truth be told, each school he has gone to, minus the one he attended for a week, has changed him. School was the last place I expected my son to be harmed but I was wrong. In the halls and hidden crevices are where I lost my son.

The enormity of the uncertain future, his and mine, has heaped on a nearly unbearable load upon my back. Today, after a family therapy session, seeing my son walk farther and farther from who he could be, stress wrapped its arms around my shoulders, gripping me tightly its embrace. And the hives returned.

I've got to figure out a way to keep stress from overtaking my whole body again. That last time was truly miserable.

Monday, May 28, 2012

Plans Are for Wusses

"Let life surprise you. Don't have a plan; plans are for wusses. You know if my life went according to my plan, I would never have the life I have today...Don't deprive yourself of the exciting journey your life can be when you relinquish the need to have goals and a blueprint...You know that when you feel sick to your stomach, it's a good thing. It signals opportunity for big growth ahead; something's coming, something good. So don't ignore the nausea, step up to it..." Jane Lynch, 2012 Smith College commencement

"People, who want the best for you, want you to be your best. So my greatest advice to you is to surround yourself with people who are going to fill your cup until your cup runneth over. So, when people say you're full of yourself, you can say, "Yeeeeah"...once your cup runneth over, you can not spend your life with your gallon-sized offerings offering them to pint-sized people. You have got to surround yourself with gallon-sized people who can hang in the same company with you so that you're not offering your gallons to those little pints out there, who can't hold it anyway." Oprah, 2012 Spelman College commencement speech

"For me, the most important thing in life is to live your life with integrity and not to give in to peer pressure to try to be something you're not; to live your life as an honest and compassionate person, to contribute in some way...follow your passion, stay true to yourself, never follow someone else's path-- unless you're in the woods and you're lost and you see a path, then, by all means, you should follow that. Don't give advice; it'll come back and bite you in the ass. Don't take anyone's advice. So my advice to you is, be true to yourself and everything will be fine...some of the most devastating things that happen to you will teach you the most...Life is like one big Mardi Gras but, instead of showing your boobs, show people your brain. And, if they like what they see, you'll have more beads than you'll know what to do with..." Ellen DeGeneres, 2009 Tulane commencement speech

As you can see, I've recently watched a few commencement speeches given by today's prolific women. Just soakin' in the inspiration.

Parenting Perplexities

Decisions, decisions, decisions.

Being a parent is hard; being a parent to a pre-teen is very hard; being a parent to a preteen who has been diagnosed with ADD, ODD, ABCD, EFG since he was young and is only getting worse is veeeery hard; being a parent to a preteen who has been alphabetically diagnosed and who has revealed in a few therapy sessions a history of being sexually abused is...what's a word that really captures "near impossible"?

So, now, enters the medical question. No, it's not should I medicate; I think, at this point in the game, I'm beyond that question. The question is, which medicine do I choose? Which won't have the worst (any) long-term effects? Which won't have immediate harmful short-term effects? Which will really help? Which will give me back the son I never got to know?

I got a call, this morning, from a doctor wanting to put my child on Risperal. I stalled, asking for some time to do research on this drug I never heard of. So a Google search turned up pages and pages of information as to why this is not a drug to take if a person is not truly psychotic. (Oh, yeah, I forgot to mention that my research turned up that this was an anti-psychosis pill. My son is not psychotic). The search also turned up dozens of YouTube videos that point to male children growing breasts as a result of taking this drug. No thank you.

So I turned to looking for something that would deal with my son's impulsiveness, his venomous tongue, and his lack of focus. I've read nearly a thousand user reviews in the two hours since I got the phone call. Adderall's out. Concerta's out. Strattera is out. Ritalin is waaaaay out. Focalin is an option but I'm scared about what it may do.

Why is it so hard to find a drug that treats ADD without causing heart or liver problems, mood swings, or thoughts of suicide?

Will I cause more harm in giving a green light to a pill than my son's issues?

Contrary to some of the parents posting reviews, I don't want to medicate my son so that my life could be better. I'm looking to make his life better. As I read review after review of Focalin where the users said, "Now, I feel like a normal person" and "Finally, my brain doesn't feel so cloudy", I'm drawn back to the living room where, many years ago, while helping my son with his homework (more like barking at him and growing increasingly frustrated at his lack of success), my son grabbed his head and said, "My brain doesn't work". I switched from yelling to encouraging, telling him that it can work and that he can do the work. But I have to wonder if, at just the young age of six/seven/nine, he was right. Was his brain too cloudy to think straight?

I know I felt that way for a few years after being raped. For four years, I couldn't think, couldn't concentrate, couldn't feel. I was in danger of failing my senior year of high school. I, definitely, failed my first two years of college. The first feeling that returned was anger. I was just so angry at the world, at my rapist for stealing and alternating my future with a child, at my mother for not listening, at myself for not speaking up and for allowing myself to be a victim. Was this the same way my son felt?

Crawling up from that depression took a hell of a fight. I still work at keeping my head floating above the drowning waters of that egocentric disease. But it's easier now because I realize that life is filled with up and down cycles. Sadness is just a part of the plan; so is happiness/contentment. It's all about perception.

My son is currently a very negative thinker. However, I can't help but feel there's another way to reach him other than in pill form; I have yet to find that way. I've tried rewards and punishments, discussions and Disney; I've even tried letting him live with his deadbeat dad for six weeks (and spent six weeks crying until the tears left permanent stains on my pillows). All to no avail. But I haven't tried medicine.

So, I'm at a crossroads, trying to figure out the best course of action to take, praying that I don't do something that is negatively irreversible. I can only hope the solution is just as simple as waiting for maturity to take over, rendering medications unnecessary; but, since I have to act now, I can only hope the medicines do not annihilate that possibility.

I'm just so scared of making the wrong decisions.

Sunday, May 27, 2012

Game of Life

Leaving me to my thoughts is a very dangerous thing to do, especially when I'm feeling the foreshadowing emotional effects of Mother Nature and the Crimson Crasher's impending week-long visit (Hey, it's my blog; no one's reading it anyway, so I can say what I want).

So, while sitting in this waiting room for the last hour, I've been thinking. Well, that's not entirely true; I woke up this morning with heavy thoughts on my mind. They are not depressive thoughts, though it may come off that way; they are more about realization. I realized I'm tired of playing the game of life. Not tired in an I'm-going-to-commit-suicide way. More like tired as in I'm-not-playing-a-game-I-can't-win kind of way.

You see, my life, for the most part, has been really hard. Yes, I am well aware that other people have it worse than me, but I'm not talking about other people. In fact, I'm not currently interested in other people because I'm trying to live my life right now, the one I was given. Or, rather, I'm trying to figure out the rules to this life. Apparently, the basic ten found in the Bible aren't enough to get the game right. I don't understand a game where the cheaters win during the present and the righteous win when the game is over and the pieces are all packed away.

So, I want a new set of rules.

Friday, May 25, 2012

I'm Back

I've been missing for a week. I think I snuck in a post at work but, at home, I had no internet. Yes, my cable/internet was disconnected because I had other pressing bills to pay. Ah, the life of the single mom, always having to make the Solomon-choice between gas and grocery. Can't steal from Peter to pay Paul because both of those mickey-fickies are broke. And, yet, I still had to find a way to give my kid $100 for football.

So what choice did I have but to pray? I prayed and I prayed. I reminded God of His promise, His whole "Test me in this" schpiel (sp?). I held up my end of our 90-day bargain; I tithed. Boy, oh, boy, oh, boy was it hard! Does it get any easier because 10% of nothing hurts a heck of a lot more than 10% of something.

And, you know what? That $100 showed up. My mom texted me one morning this week to tell me she left it for me in her living room. I would have kissed a cloud in thanks for that unexpected blessing. Instead, I sent up a quick mental thank you in prayer.

Back to what I was talking about: not having internet for a week. Well, one thing my dilemma helped alleviate was the temptation to go on to Facebook. I mean, I went on today to see if I had any messages in the last two weeks (I missed an acting gig the last time I went off Facebook and a friend of mine had a really tragic accident) but I did log right back off. I proud of myself for not giving in to the desire to click on my friend's page and see the updated pics of her newborn. That was hard, really really hard.

But I don't want to mess up what God and I got going; I don't want to be the one to back down. I want what's promised; I want a purposed future; I want my health, house, husband, kids, and career. I want my vision. But, most of all, I want to keep my word. I said I would do this, that I would allow God to make the hard shifts in my life.

I need to get out of this rut.

I have, virtually, no friends active in my life. Most of my friends only converse with me on Facebook, even though they have my number and/or email. I work with my best friend but I don't think she really gets that I'm a single mother, separate emphasis on "single" and "mother". Everything I do, everywhere I go, it's me times three. And, if it wasn't apparent by the way I opened up this blog post, I'm barely making it. The $200 a month I receive for one child ain't cutting it. My other son's father is the epitome of deadbeat. To top it off, this year has been harder than the last fifteen years; it's been so hard, I've had to seek therapy just to make sure I don't give under the weight of everything.

So, yeah, I need this bargain to work. I need to see that tithing works because nothing else in my life is really helping.

This morning, while the sun warred with my sight on my way to work (the sun won quite a few times, so blinded was I that I couldn't even see the traffic light-- so much for transitional lenses), I felt that same sun seeping through my skin and spreading through my soul. Suddenly, my thoughts were as golden as the rays coming through my windshield. I felt God's promise in every pore of my being. There are good times ahead. I want them. Lord knows I need them. I just gotta keep driving towards them.

Friday, May 18, 2012

Who’s accountable for the FCAT tests?

Reposting of a Miami Herald article regarding FCAT testing:

Posted on Friday, 05.04.12

Who is Pearson accountable to?
The state of Florida is paying the testing company NCS Pearson $250 million to administer and score the FCAT through the end of 2013. That amount could buy a lot. But in the case of Pearson contracts, Florida seems to be getting ripped off.
Students can be retained in third grade if they don’t pass their FCAT. They will be denied high school graduation if they don’t pass their FCAT. For the first time ever, 50 percent of teachers’ evaluations will be based on student FCAT scores. Two out of three negative (or two negative in a row) mean the unemployment line. As of 2014, the scores will also determine pay. Schools will, as always, be assigned a letter grade based on student FCAT performance — only now the test is harder and the proficiency scores are higher, meaning hundreds of schools in Miami-Dade County alone expect to drop as much as two letter grades.
It’s supposed to be a secure test, but The Herald recently exposed that the tenth grade FCAT reading tests use the same passages and questions throughout the “testing window,” which is as long as two weeks: The test has moved online and most high schools do not have enough computers to administer the test to all tenth graders on the same day.
When students leave the test, they can tell their friends (or post on Twitter) the titles of the passages in the test, giving students those in the second or third testing group a great advantage.
They can also report back to classmates what vocabulary words they will be asked about, or what background knowledge they will be expected to know.
The remedy? The Florida Department of Education has made students sign a pledge this year not to talk about the content of the test or share test information with anyone.
SB 736 mandates a standardized test for every subject taught by every school in the state by 2014.
These are the infamous new “end-of-course exams,” better known as EOCs, and NCS Pearson has the lucrative contract.
Naturally, these new EOCs are all computer-based as well . . . contributing to the two-month testing calendar at many high schools lacking sufficient computers.
The testing windows for the EOCs are just as long as those for the FCAT reading — meaning the possibility of cheating by reporting content is just as strong, making the tests just as invalid.
The test questions are harder. (And some are misleading or just wrong, too.)
Robert Krampf, a science blogger, checked out the FLDOE’s FCAT Science Test Item Specifications as he made FCAT practice questions to help students review for the test. He found that some definitions listed in the specifications were flat-out wrong. He also found multiple-choice questions where some of the “wrong answers” were scientifically correct answers.
The response of the FLDOE? Fifth grade students would not be expected to know enough science beyond the benchmarks to know that the scientifically correct “wrong” answers were actually, well, correct.
In other words, children — and their teachers — could be penalized for knowing too much.
Problems with the test questions cannot be reported by teachers, as they are not allowed to see the test.
When confused students alert their test proctors that the right answer is not among the answer choices provided, even if the teacher ascertains that this is indeed fact, he can do nothing about this situation, because by law he is not allowed to see the test or assist students taking the test in any way.
Thus, wrong questions with wrong answers pass by in silence, and can determine whether students advance to the next grade level, get credit for a class, or graduate from high school.
And the results of those students will determine which teachers keep or lose their jobs, and which teachers are eligible or not for a raise.
For the honor, Pearson will take your money, thank you very much.
In the Age of Accountability, the only ones not accountable for anything, apparently, are the testing giants who have lobbied hard for the “accountability” legislation.
They are accountable only to their shareholders.
Jennifer Smith is a teacher, United Teachers of Dade-designated building steward at Hialeah High School, and co-chair of the Legislative Relations Committee at UTD.

Read more here:

Thursday, May 17, 2012

My Two Year Plan

Ok, I've figured it out; I've got a plan. A two-year one. If you know me, then you know what a big deal it is for me to have a plan. After my life was thrown off track when I was 16, I gave up on making plans. In fact, I found it near impossible to create one. But, this week, maybe as a result of the 90-day plan, the ideas shaped up into the short-term and long-term goals you see below.

                     YEAR ONE (Starting June 2nd-- 33rd birthday, YAY!)
 1) Get back to working out.
 2) Renew my teaching certificate.
 3) Take an ESOL workshop.
 4) Go for National Board certification.
 5) Teach six periods next year.
 6) Re-enter the MFA program at National University.

                     YEAR TWO (34)
 7) Teach one last year in my current school.
 8) Achieve National Board certification.
 9) Save money.
10) Complete my MFA.
11) Shop the resulting screenplay that comes from completing the program.
12) Look for an adjunct faculty position to generate extra income.
13) Watch my oldest son graduate from high school.
14) Look for employment (if need be while pursuing freelance writing) and high schools (for my youngest) in New York.
15) Get my oldest son situated in college. =)
16) Scope out living arrangements in New York.
17) Move to New York.

Not an impossible plan, just one that requires tenacity and hard work. But it's one that has created peace in my soul.

Monday, May 14, 2012

Rihanna: Where Have You Been?

The title of this post is not just the title of the song but a real question: Rihanna, where have you been? This newly released music video is what so many videos are missing. You have a teensy bit of your typy Rih raunch, a dose of sexy, and a health dollop of story with what a music video of this genre should have-- dancing (nice choreography). And let's not forget, it is visually stimulating, at the very least, visually interesting.

If you can't tell by now, I really enjoyed the video. I found my mind urging my body to get out of its prone position more than once, anxious to try one or two of the dance moves. Laziness won every time, though. But that didn't keep me from noticing that I wanted to dance. I miss videos like that.

I must say, too, that it was nice not seeing the slutty Rihanna; she was sultry but she wasn't slutty (came close during those pat the kitty cat gyrations and hand movements at the end of the dance sequence). Here, Rihanna was just a woman comfortable with her body (made me jealously long for my youth, not that my abs were as wonderfully flat as hers then either), not a woman trying too hard to sell sex.

So, um, yeah. I liked the video. See for yourself below.

Sunday, May 13, 2012

Operation: Makeover Mom

The bathroom is my thinking chamber; it is where I go to ponder problems and summon solutions. Sometimes this type of thinking happens subconsciously.

(Side note: It's Mother's Day. While I was in the bathroom, my oldest kid closed my bedroom door. Now, as I type this, the scent of something singeing in the kitchen wafts under the door and disturbs my nose. It smells of burnt popcorn but that can't be it; I guess they're making breakfast.)

As I conducted my business in the bathroom, a few thoughts pinged around my head. 1) It is awesome how God can stretch time; I went to sleep around 2 and woke up at 8:30, yet I had really awesome dreams and feel rested. 2) I will not text my ex. My thank you for his Mother's Day wish (which I think was a general text to all the moms in his phone) needs to be enough communication. I tend to want to write dissertations in my messages so keeping it short is killing me. 3) My dream of my ex (2nd one in a row) pointed out he isn't ready for me or QoMV material. 4) My boys need a dad. 5) It's time for a Mom Makeover.

Those first three thoughts flitted by at the speed of a blink. Those last two thoughts, however, were, apparently, applied with double-sided sticky tape. A Mom Makeover. My mind quickly filled in the details: acrylic nails, pedicures, long weave, daily workouts, makeup, heels-- all the things that say woman to a man.

Before I could even shudder and dismiss the idea, the fact entered my mind about men being visual creatures. I may be all about taking a spiritual journey through my hair but the rest of me still isn't in order. (Wait. My boys are knocking on the door. Awww...they made me breakfast [waffles and eggs] and a card. See pix.) I'm still carrying around an additional 20lbs from last year, 20lbs, which I had lost by this time last year and found when I reentered the classroom (see my other post on the health hazards of teaching).

Anyway, back to the topic of this post: Mommy's Manhunt Makeover.

My foot is nearly healed; it's the best I've felt in a long while. Wearing nothing but heels or the walking boot these last  three weeks has really helped. I'm estimating another 2-3 weeks with the addition of a little self-therapy should really set me back to right. I won't pick up with running right away but I'm eager to get my walking on. And what's really spurring me forward is the fact that I've done this before; I've lost weight, INCHES off my waist in the span of three months just by walking. And I'm excited about having the opportunity to do that again. Fantastically excited about it. Zealously exuberant about it. I'm foaming at the mouth and chomping at the bit like a racehorse at the starting line.

But I'm not there yet; I still have some pain. So I have to (impatiently) bide my time.

I'm turning 33 next month. If I'm to have the life I envisioned a few years ago, then I've got to get on the ball. Why the rush? I've just decided that I do want more kids; I want my daughter. Again, 33 is right around the corner; the eggs are getting dusty and my mind might change again. Still, I'm on time with the vision-- we were relaxing on the beach; my boys were teens playing football in the water. My oldest turns 16 this year and my youngest turns 13; my youngest was a smidgeon older in the vision. So I've got time. But, still, I need to align myself so that I'll be in place mentally, spiritually, and physically to meet the man in the vision.

Ooh, excited once again.

Teaching: A Health Hazard

Just what is it about teaching that makes me so fat anyway? Before I became a teacher, I was a very manageable 250lbs (had gained quite a bit of weight after my grandfather's death). I wasn't ready yet to change my life because it hadn't really sunk in how fat I was. But, after I became a teacher, I ballooned to 271lbs and it took losing my voice for three months to heartburn erosion (was carrying and taking Tums daily) to make me finally get serious about losing weight and I dropped down to 251lbs. I hovered around that mark until I changed schools and went back up to 264lbs. Last year, I dropped to 228lbs during my leave of absence, went back to work for the remaining six weeks and was back up to 250lbs before school was out. Now, my weight goes up during the week and comes back down during the weekend. I don't get it.

My job, especially my recent school placement, has been a health hazard. Since I started working where I am, I've had migraines, nightmares, hives, a strained achilles tendon, high blood pressure, adult acne, feminine plumbing issues, strep throat three times in less than a year, and hair loss, as well as cycles of depression from being unsatisfied with work, pay, and the way of life it's creating-- all in the four years since I walked through those double doors.

So, finally, I'm fed up and have been applying for job after job. The only problem with that is that teaching for the last seven years has made it hard to compete in today's job market. Employers are asking for acronymed things that have me scratching my head in bewilderment. And, here in South Florida, this bilingual requirement is a pretty big deterrent (see my post from before). With my kids, I can't afford to start on the bottom rung of a company unless it matches or exceeds my current salary of $40k. And, again, in South Florida, bottom-rung jobs are about $30k with the bilingual requirement. I'm of the mindset, "Screw the requirement, someone in the office will speak the language so that I don't need to" and I apply to jobs anyway. Besides, I can make out a smattering of Spanish and whatever I don't know I can put through Google Translate or the app on my phone. How, again, is declaring English as the official language of the United States unconstitutional but the bilingual requirement is not? Sigh, sigh, triple sigh.

I miss working in the corporate world and the ability to climb up the ladder. The only thing I will miss about teaching is the flexibility for family emergencies-- oh, and the summers off. I'll, also, miss the kids who I genuinely care about. But I won't miss the stagnation, the disrespect, the helicopter parents staring eagle-eyed at the grade book, or the grade-grubbing students. I could continue with that list but it's Sunday and Mother's Day and I don't want the tension to build within my body.

So I'll just wrap it up by saying I'm ready to move on. I'm ready to take my health and happiness in my own hands.

Saturday, May 12, 2012

Joshua Ledet: It's a Man's World

I just had to devote a whole post to this performance. I know I spoke about Joshua Ledet on another post but, tonight, I've watched this performance, at least, four times and each time I positively lose it. My favorite part starts at 1:56 into his performance. So hot. That man is truly gifted but he's living ambiguity. It's like there's a struggle between what was and what is. I don't know but that's just what I get. In the meantime, I love listening to dude and watching his performances. I pray that God continues to bless him.

The full video with judges commentary is here:

Trayvon Martin: The Story Continues

Sigh. Big HUGE sigh. The racial ignorance that plagues America's non-visibly Black people, at times, knows no boundaries. I just read an article about a company selling shooting range targets with the now ubiquitously known Trayvon adornments of a hoodie, Skittles, and a can of ice tea because the sellers "support Zimmerman and believe he is innocent and that he shot a thug". Innocent? The man has confessed to shooting Trayvon Martin. A thug? The kid was just 17. Now, could Trayvon have been on the road to thug-dom? Sure. But that night, he wasn't doing thuggish things. That night, he was just walking through the neighborhood, minding his own business, unlike the thuggish behavior of George Zimmerman.

Selling those targets was tasteless and a poor showing of humanity. Labeling the boy as just a thug takes away the fact that he was still a human being. It's what people do, this labeling, so that they feel better about what transpires. History is filled with labeled people, the "they" versus "us", ones stripped of their humanity. It happened to the Jews, the Africans, women, Japanese, Cubans, girls, Protestants, Catholics, and many, many other people. This type of labeling is just simply wrong.

So, within the space of a few minutes, I land on another article which talks about some Cornell students pelting other students, Black students, with bottles as the Black students walked by. The assailants even told one of the students, "Come up here, Trayvon", referring to the young man who was killed in February. This incident reminded me of my stay in Santander, Espana just 11 years ago. While there, I was pelted by bread, shot at with water guns, and called many names in Spanish by a few of the inhabitants there. Apparently, Black people don't live in that part of the country.

It is so unfortunate that Black people have to be repeatedly discriminated against. I want to yell that this is 2012 and all of our knowledge proves there's very little difference between a Black person and the Others and that most people, including those who don't look it, possess "Black" blood. But, as I'm finding, the world is not an intelligent place. This country, for instance, boasts an 80% illiteracy rate. Can I really expect a person who can not really read to understand something that isn't explicitly and verbally taught? Some people still think Black people are 3/5 of a person, that a Black person can not lead a country (at least, Betty White doesn't feel that way), that laziness and a fondness for chicken are only reserved for melanin-endowed.

Big big BIG sigh.

Positive note: Trayvon's mother's colleagues have donated sick time to her, accumulating over 8 months worth of sick time, time she's definitely going to need to see this case through. It's good to know there's some good out here in this world.

Think Like a Man

Finally saw Think Like a Man, a movie based off of Steve Harvey's book of a similar name, with my mom today (the company is one reason I'm glad the sex scenes in this movie were very PG). I tried to read the book but didn't get pass the first chapter so I expected Kevin Hart to be the funniest part about the movie; I expected this to be like every black movie that crams every named black actor into the film; I expected it to be bad.

I'm glad it wasn't.

Maybe it was one big commercial for the book and a little too fairytale-ish with all its happy endings-- at least, one person could have gotten left out in the cold. But I appreciated that, not only was there happiness, all the characters grew and became better people. If only life was that way.

My ex only got out of this film that men, who are not where they want to be (or have nothing to show for their life), are right to break up with their mate (his reasoning for why we're no longer together). What he missed was that the men in the movie went out of their way to work on improving themselves-- at first for the women, but, ultimately, for themselves. So, I guess, it's a good thing that he is my ex because I need positivity.

I keep trying to compare myself to Taraji's character (don't remember the name) and her situation with Michael Ealy's character (again, don't remember the name-- guess there were too many characters. I only remember Meagan Good's Mya because it was said over and over and over again, plus it was written on a card). But there's, literally, no comparison. Michael's character had not only a dream and potential, he, also, had a skill-- he could cook. I have NO idea what my ex's skill was/is, even after nearly a year of dating. I had asked him about his goals but they were so vague and he was making no moves toward them (probably because they were so vague) so I had a hard time envisioning his future, let alone one that involved us.

But, apparently, he made the comparison between Taraji's and Michael's character to us. He said that I had everything: a stable job for 7 years (granted it never made me happy but I have responsibilities [READ: children] to take care of), a car (have only been without one for 6 months in my whole 15 years of driving), and a place (that I think is, literally, making my children and I sick). Yes, compared to him, I do have everything-- except support, love, and companionship. We, humans, are geared towards companionship. I may have been okay with being single before but that was because I never thought I would find anyone who loved me, who would bother to try to get/understand me, who wasn't intimidated by my intelligence, who could help me achieve my dreams and wouldn't think them silly, who I could build a life with. I was content being single because I thought I had to be content and single.

Now I know better. How I wish I didn't.

Not only that, but Taraji was happy and successful with her career. She was accomplished. I'm really not. Now I know, had I reached the level of success I dream about, I would have been much like her character because I kinda have the same standards myself, which is why it took me a while to even fall for my ex in the first place. That whole no-degree-hourly-job-having-Chevy box car-driving-living-with-his-parents thing was a REAL turn-off (given my face as I type this, it still is-- especially the Chevy, ugh).

Given my current level of (un)success in the career field (I don't want to be just a teacher) and the fact that all I have, at this time, is a bachelor's degree, I don't think that section of Steve Harvey's book applies to me. But, I do already think like a man; I was raised around nothing but boys. So I think it's the act like a lady part that may be more beneficial for me. But I'll give the book a real chance to see if there is any help for me because, let's face it, I need better and I need it soon. I've got two children who have NEVER had a strong male figure in their life, though, they have had male relatives around. They need a dad and I would really like to meet and have a forever-love.

Sigh. Is it even possible?

Yearning for Yesterday

I am so damn lonely, it hurts. It is a literal ache in my chest cavity. And what makes me the most upset about my condition is that, before my relationship, I was fine with being single. I was blissfully ignorant about what it means to love and be loved by someone who wasn't a child or family. I took myself out to eat; I took myself out to the movies; I worked out for me. I just didn't care about being un-coupled.

But, now, I know what I'm missing and I yearn for love's return. Or, at least, a return of my happily oblivious self.

I have nothing more to say on this subject so I'll just end here.

Thursday, May 10, 2012

Is it August 4th yet?

Boy, oh, boy, oh boy. What a news week, one I would give a left pinky toenail to be able to discuss on Facebook.

First, there's Biden irresponsible comments forcing the President's hand.

Next, it was North Carolina banning any recognition whatsoever of gay unions, marriage or civil. What this also means is no recognition for common law marriages either. Wonder if they thought that far.

Then, it was President Obama actually commenting in favor of gay marriages (I spoke on this yesterday). The nation blew up. Ignorant black folk, who barely vote in the first place, said that Obama lost their vote. Um, well, if you're not going to give it to him, who are you going to give it to? Someone who is, by far, more oblivious to the struggles of daily American living than someone who is deaf, dumb (meaning mute), and devoid of sight? Or no one at all, which is the same thing as a vote, only it takes away your right to have any say about the political moves in America? And I say ignorant because, ethnically speaking, black people, my family included, like to pretend that gay people don't exist while some are secretly meeting up with male prostitutes up in the northwest section of Miami, Atlanta, Wherever America, secretly giving another dude the eye, secretly slipping cell phone numbers into pockets of other men, and some of them don't even know that their sons are secretly uploading videos of themselves dancing like female strippers (and, by dancing, I mean just shaking their booty). If it wasn't true, why would there be a phenomenon called a Down Low Brother? It's almost the same as the Republican party thinking homosexuals only exist on the Democratic side.

Look, as I said yesterday, no matter your preference or belief, it's just constitutionally wrong to deny someone else a basic right as marriage-- which, by the way, isn't solely religiously Christian thing. "Pagans" had marriage; Europeans and historical nations hammered marriage out as a business thing, alliance and all that, not a result of love. That idea is pretty much a newfangled one. Now this isn't to say I'm in favor of gay marriage or not; I just can't as a black, as a female, as a single mother, as a teacher be for denying people their civil rights.

Well, today, the news has revealed Biden's remorse about opening his big fat mouth prematurely (or at all for that matter). Why does this country have such a bad record of recent vice presidents? Other than Al Gore, the recent decades' VPs (Democratic and Republican alike) have all, pretty much, demonstrated an extreme case of stupidity more often that not (remember Dan Quayle). Well, no, not all. Dick Cheney was more the devil's secret love child than Forrest Gump.

And then there's the report that Mitt Romney may or may not have been a bully in high school. Given the sensitivity of this nation, I have to wonder if high school hangups or racism (I don't believe that everyone against Prez O is a racist but there certainly are a heck of a lot of people *who vote* that are) will win with the voters. Yes, I'm being facetious.

On a lighter note, the AI 3 are the ones I thought would be there. I'm just happy my boy, Joshua Ledet, is there to sing another day. It may not behoove him to win it all because the winners get locked in these crazy contracts with songs that are bad for them. The successful winners grew when they got to distance themselves a bit from AI. But the almost-winners got to experiment.

Sigh. I'm going to just stop here. Can't really have a good debate with myself. Is it August 4th yet? Sheesh, I'm just itching to discuss so much on Facebook.

Positive note: school's almost out. :)

Wednesday, May 9, 2012

Lost Without Facebook

I'm lost without Facebook.

It's been three days and I keep reaching for my phone, wanting to post the interesting things I felt compelled to share.

Like the Korean pills made out of dead Chinese babies.

Like my frustration with the people at my job.

Like my son being threatened by a bully at school.

Like my school ranking in the top percentile out of 4,800 schools in the nation ranked (a total of 22,000 schools were analyzed) by US News.

Like my mom exclaiming her love for her early Mother's Day present in teenage text speak: "OMG!"

Like President Obama giving in to the pressure to speak on something that was a big mine field containing a boatload of "damn if you do, damn if you don't", leaving him open to even more criticism as well as paving the way for his not-to-be-under-estimated opponent.  (Maybe if Biden would shut up, Prez Obama wouldn't have to stepping in fresh steaming dog piles). North Carolina holding an unconstitutional vote didn't help. Regardless of personal belief, denying someone legal rights on the basis of what they are is just wrong. As a fat black single-mother and teacher, I know a thing or two about being glared at or disregarded on one or a combination of the "what I ams".

Joshua Ledet: Sultry
Joshua Ledet: Smooth
Joshua Ledet: Soulful
Like my discovery of the awe-some-ness that is American Idol's Joshua Ledet (haven't watched AI all season until tonight-- can't wait to hyperlink This is a Man's World when someone uploads it to YouTube). I would totally pay to see him in concert (and not that American Idol thing either). I'm trying to resist making a blog post just about dude. He is soooo good. He just doesn't fit in with the crud that is playing on constant rotation on the radio. His Change Gon' Come and Ready for Love almost got a shout out of me. Definitely makes me smile. He is Mantasia. He is Beyonce. He is Luther and a touch of so many of the greats. I hope he gets some really good writers and producers because I would definitely buy his cd. Yes, I've gone overboard with the pictures of him. And, no, I don't have a ridiculous school girl crush on him (from what I've discerned that would be totally stupid and a waste of energy). I just think he's really awesome and I hope he stays humble. Also, I didn't see too many interesting and lively pictures of him so I snapshotted a few to add to the world wide web. :)

This clip of Jessica Sanchez was pretty great too.

Like the Miami Heat sweeping the New York Knicks in round one of the playoffs.

Like my 90-day tithing commitment to God. "Test me in this...," He says. It feels more like a test for me rather than a test for Him. And, boy, I certainly hope I pass because, so far, the only floodgates that have been thrown open are the ones that have been holding back my tears.

Nearly everyday this week, the tears fell from my eyes in fat droplets as relentless as the rainfall that doused Miami these past few days.

"Test me in this," He says. I need to.

How else am I going to make it through another 87 days of no status updates? How else will I be able to pay all my bills while devoting the first 10% of my income to God? How else am I going to move from my current situation into something more aligned with my purpose?

"Test me in this," He says. I will.

I'm fighting to be obedient. I'm waiting on those blessings. I will test Him. I will trust Him. I will believe him for His word.

Found the video for Joshua Ledet's cover of It's a Man's World:

Tuesday, May 1, 2012

In a Nutshell

May 1st.

I didn't want the first day of the new month to go by without me posting to the blog. I can stereotypically begin with, "So much has happened since..." but I won't (though it's the truth). While a lot of things have happened, most of it resembled the changing landscape of a hamster wheel. If you missed the sarcasm, I banish thee to the depths of...some really deep and dark place...where ants crawl inside and earthworms salmon-slink up your nostrils-- all while rats nibble on the cuticle area of your toes, swishing their long and disgusting tail against the epidermis covering your ankles.

Me foot's still injured (yes, I wanted a lickle bit of an Irish accent-- now a Caribbean one, eh). I've actually been wearing heels (not supposed to wear flats w/ Achilles tendonitis) and just last week my walking boot arrived in the mail, so I've been wearing that as well.

My youngest...

My job. Sigh. Apparently, there are rumors floating around my job about me. And, in keeping with the characteristic of a rumor, they are rather unflattering ones. The shame of it is that they are not being spread by the students (I'm getting used to the backbiting of the girls-- don't expect better of them and I won't be disappointed). Nay. These rumors were breathed life by coworkers. They do not warrant repeating.  I'm not hurt, just mad because it's like, "Really?". Why? Ugh! How old are we? Thirteen?

My finances...suck major hard-boiled egg with an extremely dry yolk. So, I've been applying for jobs. Teaching is too vampirish on my bank account.

My love life is still quite dead. Or, rather, it's a bit undead-- more zombie like really. A mere shell of what used to be. That translates into he and I exist but not as a "we".

My life...I'm still here; I'm still breathing. If there's anything these last seven months have taught me it's that I'm a lot stronger than even I imagined (and I thought myself pretty strong). I've bent, yes, but I didn't break. I became the palm tree in the storm. And I owe that all to my faith/belief in a higher power I like to call God.